In a rematch of their 2022 slugfest, Jose Valenzuela proved on Sunday that revenge is best served cold by scoring a resounding knockout of Edwin De Los Santos in their 135-pound rematch.
The lightweight bout headlined an exciting Zuffa 08 card from inside the Chelsea Ballroom at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas as Valenzuela (16-3, 10 KOs), a former 140-pound titleholder, landed a picture perfect right hook to finish De Los Santos in this battle of southpaws at 2:05 of Round 2.
Valenzuela, a 27-year-old native of Los Mochis, Mexico, showcased just how much his game has grown since his third-round knockout loss to De Los Santos four years ago during a wild fight in which both boxers touched the canvas.
“I was a kid, I was a boy when we first fought. I grew up,” Valenzuela said. “I matured a lot and I evolved. You can better yourself and get better. You can lose and come back and become a better fighter and human being and that’s what I did.
“It’s one of the best feelings in the world. I just knew what kind of fighter I was. I knew I’m better and more complete. In the first fight, I went in there at probably 30% of my abilities. I knew that at 100, I am hard to beat.”
De Los Santos, a 26-year-old slugger from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, broke open a slow start in Round 1 by landing a flush left cross. But once Valenzuela made an adjustment to become a counterpuncher and time his opponent on the way in, he hurt De Los Santos late in the round with a counter left hand and followed it up with a second left to wobble him.
“In the first round, he timed me with a couple good jabs,” Valenzuela said. “But when we traded left hands at the end of the first round, I hurt him. And I saw that in the second round, he didn’t want to engage. He was hurt so I knew I had to get him and jump on him before he recovered.”
Valenzuela came out as the aggressor in Round 2 and landed a huge counter left hand to hurt De Los Santos. “El Rayo” stayed on the attack and landed a perfect right hook to drop him (including a follow-up left uppercut that landed clean while De Los Santos was down on one knee but went unadmonished by referee Thomas Taylor).
De Los Santos was unable to make it to his feet and was counted out.
After the fight, Valenzuela called out unbeaten junior welterweight titleholder and four-division champion Shakur Stevenson, who is one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the sport and handed De Los Santos a tentative decision defeat in 2023.
“I want Shakur Stevenson. He’s a hell of a fighter and I would love to compete with him,” Valenzuela said. “Styles make fights. I’m a real fighter and he’s a boxer. I believe his Kryptonite is a fighter like me. I come forward and I have a lot of heart. I can come forward from the first round to the last round.
“I would love a bigger fight [rather than a trilogy with De Los Santos]. After I took a loss with him, I went on my own journey and became a world champion. Maybe he has some work to do but I’m on to bigger and better things.”