Jose Valenzuela passes the test against tough veteran Deiner Berrio
Prospects sometimes have to be tested to see if they are ready for that next level. That is the case with rising undefeated prospect Jose “El Rayo” Valenzuela (9-0, 6ko) taking on veteran rough and rugged Deiner “Monstruo” Berrio (22-3-1, 13ko).
Monstruo comes into this fight with more experience, looking to play spoiler. Moreover, the Colombian native, at the age of 30, is viewed as the underdog. Furthermore, he has lost to the last three undefeated fighters he has faced. However, this is boxing, and sometimes you never know what will happen.
El Rayo is almost a celebrity in the boxing community, known for dropping unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez in sparring. Fighting under the watching eye of Jose Benavidez, father of both Jose and David Benavidez, Valenzuela has turned out to be an explosive fighter.
He is entering the ring with a five-fight knockout streak. Furthermore, he will be the main event broadcast live on FS1 under the Premier Boxing Champions banner, so fans can expect another dominating performance.
VALENZUELA TAKES CONTROL EARLY
Valenzuela right away was using all of his skills, throwing the jab and landing the hooks to the body. His punch output was on cheat mode, as he was landing various shots and taking advantage of his opponent’s decision to stand there with his guard up.
Occasionally, Berrio would explode with a left uppercut and overhand right. However, the younger fighter would quickly regain control, landing the jab followed by the straight right-hand, and ending everything with body shots.
In round three, there was a little bit of drama. The fighters’ feet got tangled and as Berrio was going down, Valenzuela landed a punch on the back of the neck. For a brief moment, the older fighter was off-balance, but the referee, believing nothing was wrong, told Berrio to get up and fight. At the very least, the referee should have taken a closer look at the fighter before assuming nothing was wrong. Berrio was a little shaken but quickly regained his posture.
THE YOUNG FIGHTER GETS TESTED
Valenzuela realized the veteran was not going to go away easy. He was not throwing hard shots but just looking to touch up the Colombian native. Moreover, he was fighting his first ten-round fight, so it helped to fight this way to have enough in the tank for the later rounds.
Berrio found success landing the counter right-hand and, a few times, landed the left hook. The veteran started picking up the pace more in the second half and had the taller fighter going backward after landing a few more counter straight right-hands.
The fight continued to mirror all of the other previous rounds. The young, undefeated prospect was going to the body and landing the uppercut. His opponent continued momentary success, exploding with one or two hard left and right hook counters.
Deiner Berrio was able to land a vicious right hook counter that rocked Valenzuela for a moment, drawing blood from the nose of the young fighter. However, his punch output was not enough. Towards the closing rounds of the fight, both fighters decided to slug it out until the final bell sounded, bringing a close to the event.
The judges scored cards were 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92 in favor of Valenzuela keeping his perfect record intact. 3kingsboxing scored the fight the same as the last scorecard. If the idea was to test the young man, then his team picked the right opponent as he showed a lot of poise and patience against a tough, solid fighter.
By: Garrisson Bland
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