Fighters First Management CEO Adrian Clark, manager of Edwin De Los Santos, has announced his intent to appeal the results of De Los Santos’ loss to Jose Valenzuela this past Sunday with the Nevada Athletic Commission. Replays if the end of the lightweight bout show Valenzuela throwing and connecting with a punch after De Los Santos was already down on the canvas. “Rules are rules. It doesn’t matter where the shot landed or how hard it was,” said Clark. “When a fighter is on a knee or down, it is illegal to hit him. Edwin was robbed of the opportunity to recover from the blatantly illegal shot. It’s my job to make this appeal. The punch that knocked him down was a good shot by Valenzuela. However, if De Los Santos was out, the referee would have immediately waived the count and called the fight. Everyone watching that fight knows that is a foul."
Clark continued, “My petition is based around the protection of fighters. If the commission for the state that lands a majority of the big fights says that an illegal shot has no bearing on the outcome of a fight, that’s a problem for the sport.”
Clark also pointed out that when De Los Santos and Valenzuela first met in 2022, De Los Santos was penalized for hitting Valenzuela while he was down. “A situation similar to this occurred in their first fight. Edwin landed a punch after Valenzuela was through the ropes. The difference is, the foul was recognized, called, Edwin was deducted a point and Valenzuela had time to recover.”
[Valenzuela went on to win and lose a 140-pound world title prior to last weekend's rematch].
De Los Santos stated that no matter how the process plays out, he plans to pursue another fight with Valenzuela to settle the score for good. “I will let the appeal go through the proper channels, but I am not going to focus on the illegal hit,” said De Los Santos. “I got caught with a good shot. I was stunned, but not hurt. I won’t make any excuses. Eventually I’m going to get the opportunity to fight him again.”
PRIOR BOXINGTALK COVERAGE
JUNE 28, 2026... In the Zuffa Boxing main event, ex-junior welterweight champion Jose “El Rayo” Valenzuela avenged a defeat with a
second-round knockout of Edwin De Los Santos. In 2022, De Los Santos took the win in their first meeting when he knocked out Valenzuela in the third round in a fight that saw both men hit the canvas. But in the rematch four years later, Valenzuela showed his evolution as he knocked out De Los Santos in the second round to deliver a statement to the rest of the lightweight division. A sharp start from De Los Santos almost ended in disaster at the end of the opening round when Valenzuela connected with a huge left hand that badly wobbled the Dominican in the closing seconds. Another follow-up left hand wobbled De Los Santos again, but the round came to a close before “Rayo” was able to take full advantage.
Having seen the results of his power punches late in the first round, Valenzuela resumed his attack in the second and clipped De Los Santos again as he stalked his man around the ring. Valenzuela stayed composed and landed again, which drew De Los Santos off the ropes and into a wild battle of hooks. Valenzuela covered up well and unleashed a perfectly-timed right hook that sent De Los Santos down to the canvas for the count of ten.
It gave Valenzuela the most satisfying, and important, victory of this chapter of his career as the former 140-pound world champion proved himself as a legitimate contender for 135-pound championship gold. And after improving his career record to 16-3 with the 10th knockout of his career, “Rayo” capped off his night by making clear what he wants next – a fight with pound-for-pound star Shakur Stevenson.
