Valero couldn’t just call out the big names yet. He still needs to climb the ranks up slowly. Pacman climbed up slowly before he eventually got to fight the big names. Am sure a lot of you don’t even remember Pacman way back when his total fights were at 20+ (even if he was knocking down opponents at a very high rate also and was a title holder at that time). He only gained “public” recognition 8 to 10 years after he got to fight in the U.S.

If you follow Valero’s career and map it to where Pacman was at 20+ fights then it would take a few more years before Valero can be where Pacman is. All big name fighters didn’t do it overnight. Everyone toiled their way up. 1200 Techs is right, there are a lot more fighters out there who deserves a shot at Pacman more than Valero does.

That’s the way it should be Brandon. Every single one of the “big” names proved themselves and fought up the ranks. why should anybody get to jump the line and be ahead of other contenders that worked their way up, just because they “seem to possess” what it takes to beat the top contenders? With Valero winning this weekend, let’s see if he can clean up at lightweight and then he has IMO, the deepest division in Jr. Welter ahead of him. I think guys like JMM abd Bradley deserve a pac fight before Valero does due to the fact they have been for a while now taking on the best their respective divisions have to offer, more so than Valero has. Valero needs to get his act straight and continue to up the ante from now on everytime he fights (in regards to the level of competition). If he does that, everything will fall in place.

The conventional wisdom suggested that DeMarco was the slick boxer and Valero was the raw brawler. Well, tonight Valero showed the world that he is much more than a raw brawler but rather a fighter with a tool box of diverse skills that he put on display tonight. I saw improved defense, double jabs, slipping, unknown toughness and grit.

I love to see a fighter encounter some different forms of adversity. It allows us to what they are made of. A number of fighters would have folded or explode into full-scale panic after suffering that horrible cut to the forehead. I like the way Valero’s corner calmed their charge down and Valero went to work. he didn’t allow the cut to bother him two much because after round 6 he just settled into his game. Throwing combinations after combinations, but I would like to see more body work.

I like the way he paced himself and showed patience as he broke down DeMarco. Now, people will say he didn’t score the knockout and my reply is okay, but he was better for it. You don’t knock out everyone. World-call fighters don’t go easy and DeMarco possesses a sound chin, pride and he looked to me like “I am not going to get knocked out in front of my people. I may get beaten up but I am not going to go down.”

Still, Valero took his soul and to a certain degree his will. Round after round DeMarco was being pushed back shot after shot and punished. I could hear via “surround sound” the impact of those shots and the look the kid had on his face in his corner after round 8 told us everything we needed to know: ” He’s too strong!”

Clearly, Valero is another class of fighter. Class A! He reduced DeMarco to sparring-partner status. This is not a knock on DeMarco, who is a fine young fighter and who may gone to greats things if doen’t after fight that monster again.

Now, what’s next for Valero?

Hopefully, bigger fights, earned glory, more exposure, and big PPV mega-fight events with the best fighters in the 130, 135 and even 140 weight classes.

The lightweight division has been served notice. There is a new player in town.