I accept that Valero, and Marco Antonio Barrera, have fought on without obvious consequences following operations to drain blood from the brain.īut that is not to say there won't be any. The ramifications of allowing a boxer who has had a subdural haematoma into the ring could be disastrous. He is a phenomenal fighter, one I tipped for greatness during his battle for the right to fight in the United States.īut the bottom line is I don't believe boxing can take the risk knowing what we know now. That is a devastating conclusion to reach for such a talented fighter but not as desperate as the consequences might be of fighting on. The fact that he had a traumatic brain injury, a tear inside the cranium in the most vulnerable part of the brain, means he should never box again in my view. It was not until the New York State scan that the extent of his injuries were revealed. He had an operation to repair the damage and was declared fit to box by the Venezuela authorities. Valero suffered a fractured skull and a blood clot on the brain after falling off a motor cycle in 2001. Reports of the brain scan from New York State came as a shock when I learned the findings.
Texas remains the only state in the United States in which he can fight.
I wonder if the real issue is being overlooked here. The idea is to give Valero time for the gash on his head - sustained against Antonio DeMarco last week - to heal and for him to test the waters at light-welterweight. Edwin Valero is now a champion in recess, as the WBC call it, which means his lightweight world title is up for grabs.
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