By Brent Matteo Alderson

In what was somewhat of surprise to the boxing world, Edwin Valero recently replaced his current trainer, Kenny Adams with Robert Alcazar, the man that trained Oscar De La Hoya for the majority of his professional bouts.

Valero’s manager, Jose Castillo noted that local was the impetus for the switch, “They had already talked in the past before Edwin went to Japan.  When he came back from Japan he went to Vegas, but he always wanted to be in California.  He had lived here before and had worked with Alcazar on a couple of times occasions.  So we came to an agreement and now it’s set.  Edwin has a wife and two kids and they have lived here in California before and they liked it here.”

Castillo said the fact that Alcazar is bi-lingual wasn’t one of the determining factors, but is definitely a positive, “It wasn’t the dominant factor, but it helps since they both speak Spanish.  We talked to Robert and liked what he had to say about the things he would like to work on with Edwin.  One or two days back in 2004 they talked and Edwin did one or two days of training with him and liked it and always had in the back of his mind. Alcazar said he would like to have more than three or four weeks to work with Edwin and said after this fight and his next one that Valero will be the complete package.”

According to reports Edwin is already looking sharp and is training hard at the South Coast Kick Boxing gym in Costa Mesa, California for his April 4th bout for the WBC 135 pound title against the hard punching Antonio Pitalua 46-3 (40) and weighed in at 140 ½ pounds on Saturday for the official WBC 30-day weigh. Valero’s manager commented, “He’s already in terrific shape; he could fight next week.”

This past Thursday Valero sparred 10 rounds with fringe contender Josesito Lopez 23-3,

“I had never seen Valero, but I was impressed. He’s the complete package, he has it all. He’s good on his feet, he has good stamina, he punches hard, he’s a real accurate puncher   and defensively he’s solid, I was impressed,” noted Henry Ramirez, Lopez’s trainer.

When asked about the probable outcome of a potential clash between Valero and Juan Manuel Marquez, Josesito responded, “I don’t know.  That’s would be a good one. That’s a tough fight.  Edwin is good, but Marquez is the first or second best pound for pound fighter in the world. It’s hard to say.”

Castillo commented, “Marquez is a good fighter, but I think Juan [Diaz] could have won the fight if he had more of a punch, but we would love to have a shot at Marquez. Valero would definitely win that fight, but he’s moving up to 140 and I don’t think he wants any part of Edwin. I can tell you that.”

Notes:

Favorite Quote: - Former heavyweight contender Randal Tex Cobb once commented, “If you screw things up in tennis, it’s 15-love. If you screw up in boxing, it's your ass.”

James Kirkland looked like a beast this past weekend. He was even ripped as a little boy. Imagine a fight between him and Alfredo Angulo. Can you say “WAR.”

Brent Matteo Alderson, a graduate of UCLA, has been part of the staff at BoxingScene.com since 2004. Alderson's published work has appeared in publications such as Ring Magazine, KO, World Boxing, Boxing 2008, and Latin Boxing Magazine. Alderson has also been featured on the ESPN Classic television program “Who’s Number One?”  Please e-mail any comments to BoxingAficionado@aol.com