[mgrover]

I was watching a documentary about this guy, and watched quite a bit of his sparring and it seems he had it all, the punching power, but also the skill, the fundamentals of boxing. I've been wondering what could of been? If he was around now, against Maidana, Khan, Bradley (when he didn't run off to welterweight), even if he moved up weight to welterweight I think he could of made a huge impact.

What you think?

[The Ollie Reed F...]

I was watching a documentary about this guy, and watched quite a bit of his sparring and it seems he had it all, the punching power, but also the skill, the fundamentals of boxing. I've been wondering what could of been? If he was around now, against Maidana, Khan, Bradley (when he didn't run off to welterweight), even if he moved up weight to welterweight I think he could of made a huge impact.

What you think?

It's very easy to dismiss Valero due to his 2nd tier opposition abroad and make digs about him being 'Dougie's son' but despite his limitations he was a beast in the ring and didn't know the meaning of quit. I think with some polishing he could've been a superstar.

I mean remember that last fight he had where he got that insane gash early. The guy carried on like it was a scratch. I can think of more a few 'elite level' fighters who would've quit with that kind of gash. Instead it just made him fight harder.

It is hard to discuss this guy without prejudice due to the horror he committed outside the ring and the cowardly way he chose to take his own life rather than face the consequences, but from a purely boxing POV yes I for one thought he had serious potential.

[lloyd mayflower]

Dont know what level he would have reached, but what WOULD have been, is some seriously exciting fights, and some gut/chin checks for any top level lightweight thru welterweight. My thinking was always that he would end up a Katsidis like character, exciting and great to watch but maybe just coming up short against the top guys. Saying that tho, with his power, it would only take one shot in any fight, which is why it would have been great to have him around.

Now having said all that, I must balance my post by stating that he is in the bad fire if such a place exists and deservedly so.

This post has been edited by lloyd mayflower: Sep 15 2011, 08:40 AM

[SENTRAL]

Having to come through adversity in his last fight due to the horrendous cut he suffered, Edwin answered a few more questions about himself, questions that needed answering at the time and in hindsight, helped us
to better evaluate him now he is no longer with us.  I would rate his power as very good, not in the Julian Jackson category, but very good nonetheless.  He was definitely a work in progress and would have had to improve massively if he was to ever become one of boxings great fighters.  His reflexes, speed, solid chin and heart all point to a fighter destined for huge success and another overlooked attribute he
had was exceptional footwork.  He had the natural ability, just by using great footwork, to make an opponent fall short and he managed to do this effortlessly.  With more experience he would have been able to
polish up his technical deficiencies and improved his all round game.  However, it is the unanswered questions about how he would fare against the elite in his weight class/classes which just leave him as another
one of boxing's what if's?  A monster inside the ropes.  Tragically he was a monster outside of them too and I hope somehow he is experiencing an eternity of agony.

[mgrover]

I don't really care about him as a person sorry to say, just as a fighter. Watching this it was sad to see such a waste of talent. I mean I watched Katsidis no offence to the man but to me he just seemed like a slugger, well in the Marquez fight, but maybe Marquez made him look bad. I really didn't want to bring this into the conversation, but he seems a hybrid of Mayweather and Pacman, he has the defensive skill and countering ability of Mayweather and the offense and sheer heart of the Pacman, and it just looked so damn good in that ring. It looked entertaining to both the casual fan who liked there slug fest and to those that like to watch the art for the display of sheer skill.

[SmartyBeardo]

Let's not try to put this guy on a Salvador Sanchez level pedestal, please. He was overrated and destined for The Land of Twitch, IMO. He was mentally weak outside the ring and that was soon to be translated into his performance inside the square.

[mgrover]

maybe he was mentally weak outside the ring, but inside he seemed to have the confidence and the self esteem to relentlessly attack. Am not saying hes a legend or unbeatable because I can see a few flaws in his game, but I think his reign at the top could of been long. That's not taking into account his outside life.

[lloyd mayflower]

Let's not try to put this guy on a Salvador Sanchez level pedestal, please. He was overrated and destined for The Land of Twitch, IMO. He was mentally weak outside the ring and that was soon to be translated into his performance inside the square.

Thats the other side of the coin. When he was fighting there were a few guys on here who consistently said he would end up on someones highlight reel, and also regarding his mental state, well, it was obviously in him to do bad things. We know that now, but even supposing he never did what he did, people that fucked up cant keep a lid on it forever. It would inevitably have affected his game.

[Lil-lightsout]

Was one of the most overrated hype jobs I had seen in some while. I used to hear about all these skills and stuff he possessed, but never saw it in the ring. He had heart and balls, I will give him that, but the guy looked flat out average and this was against B and C level fighters and still didn't look spectacular.
He was eventually going to get exposed, he just wasn't impressive when watching him, but just looking at his record and the KO's, it looked spectacular on paper, but really never ever impressed me.
I'm glad he is dead, but sometimes I wish he died after getting exposed because he doesn't deserve this mysterious "what if's". Brandon Rios is better than him.

Who was more over-rated...Pavlik or Valero?

This post has been edited by Lil-lightsout: Sep 15 2011, 07:08 PM

[SmartyBeardo]

Who was more over-rated...Pavlik or Valero?

Valero. He never fought anything close to the comp that Pavlik has.