In a couple weeks Adrien “The Problem” Broner and his team will descend upon the recently hurricane Sandy hit town of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Broner won’t be there to help repair the devastation caused by the hurricane, Broner is looking to cause some damage of his own against the durable and in some ways surprising opponent Antonio DeMarco.
This fight for many fans is regarded as Broner’s first real test since winning a semi debatable win against DeMarco fellow Mexican countryman Daniel Ponce De Leon in 2011. A fight Broner seemed to struggle slightly with due to the constant pressure De Leon applied throughout the fight.
However, in the end, Broner deserved the win. But this article is not about the clash 
between Broner and DeMarco, a fight that on paper is definitely an interesting match up.
Antonio DeMarco was the last fighter to face the now deceased Edwin Valero. A fighter that in most boxing circles was a fighter that had both the skill set and knockout power to beat anyone in his weight class. Doug Fisher the highly respected journalist and editor of The Ring magazine was the first to give fans insight into the heavy handed Venezuelan when he was with his previous employer. Fisher opened my eyes to Valero and I like many others could only find his fights afterwards on websites and wow, were they a treat. Valero displayed an aggressiveness that few else show these days, later in his career, especially against DeMarco, he display maturity and some real boxing skills as opposed to the raw power he usually displayed in dominating his opponents.
Valero was the missing link. The link between his last defeated opponent DeMarco and Broner. Broner by many is viewed as the next big thing in boxing. A fighter that has speed, defense and power, as well as a bit of swagger that fans love to hate. Valero would have been his counterpoint.
Valero was the perfect opponent for Broner. A fighter that would not put up with Broner’s antics, his showmanship from the press conference to the ring entrance to the fight. Valero would have none of it. It would made for a great build up for what may have been the closest thing to Pacquiao-Mayweather. Two fighters that many believe Valero and Broner would have replaced in the near future.
The fight itself would have been one for the ages. Morales-Barrera 1 with hints of Hagler-Hearns, sprinkle in Pacquiao-Marquez and Mayweather-Cotto and you have a good idea of what Valero-Broner could have been.
Alas, it’s only a pipe dream, Valero never fulfilled his boxing potential. His career and life ended when you chose a far more destructive path than just knocking out opponents. One that left many with far more questions than answers when he took the life of his wife and then his in jail.
Unlike other fighters who left before their time, Salvador Sanchez and Diego Corrales come to mind. Valero left on terms that by most fans make it hard for them to see past his final act. I don’t blame them. His atrocities should never be forgotten or over looked when Valero is brought up. Sadly in the end that will be what most remember him by- Being handcuffed walking into a Venezuela jail, followed by news of Edwin Valero taking his own life.
However before the reality of what he did sets in, fans will always have a few minuets to argue of how good Valero could have been.
He was the standard and the link to DeMarco-Broner- a fighter that was on a whole different level than fighters now. That cannot be argued.
R.I.P. Jennifer Carolina Viera