By Thomas Gerbasi

It’s been a long four years for Luis Orlando Del Valle. Longer than it should have been.

But at least the wait is over.

On Saturday, the Bayamon, Puerto Rico native will be in the middle of AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, facing the latest phenom from the Golden Boy Promotions stable, unbeaten 22-year-old Diego De La Hoya.

The 29-year-old has been here before, the young gun ready to take the next step in his career against the seasoned vet. But when Del Valle got his shot against Vic Darchinyan in 2012, he fell short, subsequently ending up in boxing’s wilderness. And despite going 6-1 with 1 NC since that bout, he has not returned to the big stage. Until now. As the B-side

“As a professional boxer, I know that boxing is also a business,” Del Valle said. “So I need to know where I’m standing in this side of the business. I was once an A-side, I was given an opportunity to make the crossover against Darchinyan, and it was a little too soon. I failed on making that statement, and it sent me back to the drawing board. And in order for me to regain that status, I wasn’t going to be given an A-side opportunity. I wasn’t going to be given a peaches and cream opportunity to get back to where I was. I knew once I lost against Darchinyan that if I wanted to get there, I had to beat somebody like Diego De La Hoya.”

It’s a beautiful example of a crossroads bout: De La Hoya ready to make his move on Pay-Per-View, Del Valle trying to parlay a win into a bigger fight and bigger payday.

“My mentality is clear,” Del Valle said. “I have to beat Diego if I want to regain my status. And hey, I’m comfortable with it. I understand where I’m at, but I know I’ve been there and that I’m going in with great preparation and the mindset that this is do or die.”

That pressure could break other fighters, but Del Valle, a former amateur star, is made of sturdier stock. And maybe he wasn’t ready for Darchinyan four years ago, but everything that’s happened since then has made him harder, in the ring and out.

“It’s grinding,” he said. “Grinding and grinding. I had to dig down, really down. It’s been four years with me one hundred percent training. This is what I do for a living, and every time I fight, I’ve got to make sure I make the most out of those little paychecks that I get to cover everything. My wife, I have to give her the most credit in the world, because she hasn’t stopped believing in me that I will provide and believing in me when I tell her that I’m going to make it and that I will make our goals come true. She’s supportive, and it’s finally arrived. This is the fight that will pay everything off. After this fight, it will be time to get closer to a title fight, closer to fights with bigger purses. This is the real shot.”

Orlando-Del-Valle

But has it taken too long? Some fighters get shot after shot on the biggest stages, win or lose. Del Valle hasn’t been treated in the same way, but if he’s bitter, he’s not showing it. Real fighters bite down on their mouthpiece and deal with what’s in front of them, not what should be there.

“That’s how the business goes,” he said. “I had two choices: either go back to it and go stronger at it, or just fall back and think ‘I won that fight, boxing’s not treating me right, man, I’m done.’ I decided to get back to the drawing board and work harder and for the next time, make sure that I leave no doubts. That’s the mentality. We’re not going to leave a doubt.”

Del Valle is all in, and the funny thing about this pivotal bout is that it almost arrived by accident, as he was scheduled to fight in New Jersey on August 27. But early last month, he got the call to face De La Hoya. And taking it was a no brainer.

“I wasn’t surprised about getting the fight with Diego,” he said. “I was surprised about the HBO Pay-Per-View. Is this serious? Is this the shot I was waiting for? And it finally arrived. These four years from the drawing board and working and not giving up, working on the craft, my team had my back, not stopping, believing, and we finally got the shot.”

The shot’s one thing, though. Making the most of it and performing when it matters is another. De La Hoya is young, but he’s no joke. He’s got talent, but not the experience against a fighter like Del Valle. It may end up being the most interesting fight on Saturday’s Canelo Alvarez-Liam Smith card.

“That’s all to find out at the first bell on Saturday,” he said. “This is the typical crossover fight from prospect to contender and we are going to find out if Diego is really what they’re talking about, or if it’s a little too soon for him. I’ve trained hard and I’ve got no excuses to lose this fight. I am the veteran here, I’ve already been in his position, I’ve been in the spotlight, and we’re ready.”

It almost sounds like this is a world championship fight for a young man many believed would have had a few of those already. He disagrees.

“This is not a championship fight,” Del Valle said. “This is a life changing fight and that has more meaning than a belt, that has more meaning than having my name being written in the history books as a champion. I’m more concerned with the future of my two daughters, and by me winning this fight, it will guarantee that they will have an easier life than the one that I had. That has more meaning than anything, and that’s what this fight means for me. In order for me to lose this fight, Diego will have to literally kill me. I don’t care if there’s a hundred thousand people in the stadium or only two people; by the time that we fight, I’m winning.”