Sunday, June 15, 2008

Valero moves into top 100


Few boxing fans, outside of the real hardcore fans, know who Edwin Valero of Venezuela is.

That should change soon. He's now a perfect 24-0 with 24 KOs after Thursday's TKO win over Takehiro Shimada to retain his WBA super featherweight title.

Valero is based out of Japan because in 2003 the New York Athletic Commission ruled he was medically unfit to fight because of an earlier head injury. The ruling still stands despite his continued string of wins.

He could become a world wide phenomenon if he lands a big fight and the one most often mentioned is Manny Pacquiao.

His impressive KO string already has him in my top 100 -- which is based on points earned and guys with high knockout rates move up fast -- and he knocked Jimmy Wilde from the final spot.

Here's my new No. 90 through 100.

90. Maxie Rosenbloom, 1923-39, U.S., 47.054
91. Myung Woo Yuh, 1982-93, South Korea, 46.932
92. Edwin Valero, 2003-08, Venezuela, 46.875
93. Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, 1990-07, Thailand, 46.792
94. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 1994-07, Thailand, 46.763
95. Bob Montgomery, 1938-50, U.S., 46.653
96. Lou Ambers, 1932-41, U.S., 46.542
97. Sven Ottke, 1997-04, Germany, 46.465
98. Victor Galindez, 1969-80, Argentina, 46.378
99. Mickey Walker, 1919-35, U.S., 46.378
100. Orlando Canizales, 1984-99, U.S., 46.371

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