The Murder-Suicide of Edwin Valero

"WBC lightweight champion Edwin Valero (27-0, 27 KO's) showed me that he's the real deal in dispatching the tough Antonio DeMarco (23-1-1, 17 KO's) after 9 rounds at Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico. Valero reduced DeMarco, a big puncher in his own right, into a timid lamb as he clubbed him into quitting on his stool after the 9th round had ended. In that beating that Valero showed that he may be the next big boxing star in the sport and is ready for bigger hurdles like WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao[1]." This was the reaction of boxing writer Esteban Garduno after Valero made contender Antonio DeMarco quit on his stool, and it was a reaction shared by many of boxing's most dedicated fans. Valero's power was a sight to behold as he peppered his opponents with devastating punches coming from all sorts of angles. He was ferocious and looked in the ring as if he legitimately wanted to hurt his opponent. Because of this in-ring ferocity, the power and his generally exciting style, the boxing world was clamoring for Valero-Pacquiao, especially in those final months of Valero's life.

Edwin Valero was a boxer with a lot of power. He won his first 18 professional fights by first round knockout and no man ever made it to the final bell against him in all 27 of his fights. 27-0 with 27 knockouts. He seemed like a potential pound for pound champion and a surefire hall-of-fame lightweight fighter. But then it all came crashing down when he was just 28. Valero went from potential Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather opponent to dead prisoner in the span of less than a week. So what happened to this exciting fighter? To understand what happened to Valero, we need to first understand who he was. Valero was a wild man. He was known to drink to excess, snort massive amounts of cocaine and carried firearms with him often[2]. Valero was a Venezuelan superstar, honored by President Hugo Chavez as a National Hero and well on his way to millions of dollars in fight purses and endorsement deals.

So what happened to all that? On April 18, 2010 Valero was arrested after his wife Jennifer Carolina was found dead in the city of Valencia, Venezuela[3]. This arrest shook the boxing world because just two months prior he had defeated lightweight contender Antonio DeMarco in a dominant performance to defend his WBC World Lightweight Title for the second time. Valero was looking like a major star and it was a major blow to the sport when the news came of his arrest. But according to his friends, the downfall of Valero was not as shocking as one would think. His life was spiraling out of control and many of his close friends thought that if he did not seek help and treatment for his alcoholism and psychological issues that something tragic would happen. But murdering his wife still was obviously quite shocking to everyone. How can a man who seemingly has everything pointing in the right direction in his life be so impulsive that he throws it all away like that? His friends and family had opportunities to step in and get him help for his mental health and addiction problems, but even his mother shifted blame elsewhere "The authorities of this country are responsible for everything. It's true that I have to take the blame for not saying anything, but Edwin was very ill. He was using drugs since age 18 and drank a lot[4]"

Maybe if they had pushed the issue more, Valero could have been in a rehabilitation facility instead of that hotel with Jennifer Carolina on that fateful night. Was Bob Arum obligated to ensure the mental health of his fighter? Was Valero's manager to blame? Were Venezuelan authorities the ones who carried the responsibility for the tragic events of April 18, 2010? At this point, the murder is in the past and neither Valero or Jennifer Carolina has the potential to give us any more information about that night or what led up to it. But we can look a bit at the background of Valero to get a bit more insight into his actions and his downfall.

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[1] https://www.boxingnews24.com/2010/02/valero-is-the-fighter-to-beat-pacquiao/

[2] https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/boxing/edwin-valero-boxer-hugo-chavez-venezuela-hugo-chavez-pacquiao-mayweather-b529024.html

[3] https://www.boxingscene.com/edwin-valeros-murder-arrest-facts-details-timeline--27025

[4] https://www.boxingscene.com/valero-denied-murder-relatives-reveal-dark-secrets--27058