![]() Due to the head injury suffered in a motorcycle accident, the state of Texas was the only jurisdiction in the U.S. Boxing politics played a role, as did Valero’s inability to be promoted in America. Stradley highlights how Edwin desperately wanted to face Manny Pacquiao, as Valero saw the Filipino superstar as a symbol of what he himself could become if given the right opportunities, but the bout never happened. Of course tragedy overshadows everything in this tale and while the book addresses Jennifer’s murder and the fighter’s apparent suicide in detail, it also includes some of the smaller calamities of Valero’s life. Few sparring partners could last more than two rounds, leading one fighter to ask, “What do you feed this guy? Nails?” Valero was hired as a sparring partner by Oscar De La Hoya when “The Golden Boy” prepared to face Manny Pacquiao, and the Venezuelan’s ferocity resulted in him lasting only two days, with Oscar’s brother ordering his crew to, “Get this monster out of here.” Of course Valero’s 27 knockouts in his 27-0 pro career also speaks to the passions that seethed under the surface. ![]() Readers see how this well of potent emotion manifested when Valero stepped through the ropes and into battle. ‘I could not enjoy the moment as I would have liked,’ he said.” “He said that he was looking for Jennifer and couldn’t find her. ![]() When Valero won his first world title in 2006, he was subdued in his celebration. Stradley also makes clear Edwin’s intense devotion to his wife, Jennifer Carolina Viera de Valero, which, given the way their lives ended, could easily be overlooked. For example, after failing to qualify for the 2000 Olympics, Valero reportedly “cried for two weeks.” “El Inca”: 27 wins, 27 knockouts. He was full of emotions more varied than the rage seen when he battered his opponents into helplessness. In contrast to his ring persona, Valero was often reported as being a respectful and even shy person. Like most pugilists, Valero was not the same vicious character outside the ropes as he was inside them, and Stradley provides the details that round out Edwin’s character. The book provides a more complete look at Valero’s life than was previously available and helps us better see the circumstances behind a tumultuous career. ![]() Stradley chronicles the poverty of Valero’s early years in Venezuela, a motorcycle accident that would have lasting effects, his legacy as one of the best knockout artists of recent years, and then the murder and suicide, both the subject of various conspiracy theories, that became fodder for innumerable threads on internet message boards. Don Stradley’s book, Berserk: The Shocking Life and Death of Edwin Valero, gives us a fuller portrait of the Venezuelan sensation, his talents, his troubles, and the tragic end of his life.īerserk is part of the Hamilcar Noir series from Hamilcar Publications, a line up of intriguing titles that combine big names from boxing with lurid true crime tales (Stradley already has another volume in the burgeoning series, Slaughter In The Streets) and clearly, the story of Edwin Valero makes for an apt entry. And as a result most fight fans lack a clear perspective on Valero as both a person and a prizefighter. Ever since, the tale of the boxer some called “El Terminator” has been at the center of speculation and swirling rumors. The story of Edwin Valero is one boxing fans know because of his famously all-action, go-for-broke style-he won all 27 of his pro bouts by knockout-and because of its horrific end when Valero murdered his wife before committing suicide in a jail cell.
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