Valero bids for world title tonight

By Scott Shaffer

05/08/2006

Valero bids for world title tonight

Boxing outlaw Edwin Valero will have a chance to make history tonight in Panama City, when he challenges Vicente Mosquera for the WBA version of the 130-pound world title. Both men made weight yesterday in Panama City, 130 for the champion and 129 3/4 for the challenger. While Marco Antonio Barrera is the legitimate world champion in that weight class, Valero's story is a compelling one. He has posted a professional record of 19-0 with 18 first-round knockouts and one in the second round. He has accomplished this despite being placed on medical suspension in the United States due to a soft spot in his skull resulting from a motorcycle accident, which he hid from medical inspectors and even his own trainers. Once suspended, Valero took his act back to South America (he's Venezuelan) and also fought in France and Japan, and the knockouts continued. Mosquera, 24-1-1, is a talented warrior who has held the WBA belt since 2005 but has a reputation of being a partier.