Jo se “Rayo” Valenzuela was confident that he could knock Chris Colbert into next week. Roughly one minute into the first round, it seemed like he did.

Colbert’s body went limp just before hitting the canvas in March. Somewhat incredulously, however, Rayo watched as Colbert dusted himself off and beat the eight count.

Colbert, if he wanted, could’ve thrown on his running shoes and played it safe. Instead, he dug his feet into the dirt and fought fire with fire.

Rayo had his moments, candidly, he believes he sustained far longer stints of success than Colbert, but he was forced to stomach the second defeat of his career.

Several months have since passed. All along, the 24-year-old has channeled all of his frustrations and surly attitude into an arduous training camp as he prepares for their upcoming rematch.

With just over a week remaining, Rayo is taking the time to look back on his recent shortcomings. Although all three judges scoring from ringside gave the edge to Colbert, Rayo doesn’t believe he’s the best fighter he’s ever faced.

“I don’t think so man, I don’t think so,” said Rayo to BoxingScene.com.

You could take a look at Rayo’s resume and make your own assertions as to who was his best opponent. Francisco Vargas comes to mind but the former champ had seen better days by the time Rayo KO’d him in the first round in 2022.

Edwin De Los Santos was the first man to stop the Rayo hype train, but the Mexican product wouldn’t get into details when comparing the two. Instead, Rayo gave a few specifics as to why Colbert doesn’t rank number one on his list, more specifically, the seemingly porous defense he displayed on the night.

“I was able to put my hands on him every time I wanted to.”