Cancun KO coming

Wayne McCullough looks ahead to KO specialist Edwin Valero's latest fight in a cracking double-header in Cancun.

This weekend in Cancun WBC featherweight champion Jorge Linares will face top contender Gamaliel Diaz and topping the bill will be WBA super-featherweight champion Edwin Valero against Zaid Zavaleta. Linares and Valero both fight out of the Teiken camp from Japan. In February 2001 Valero was involved in a motorcycle accident where he fractured his skull and had to have a blood clot removed. He claimed a Venezuelan doctor cleared him and he turned pro in July 2002. At 11-0 he failed a brain scan in New York and was banned from fighting in the States. Valero is an impressive fighter with an unbeaten record. All 22 of his fights have been won by KO so he comes looking to end the fight as quickly as possible. He holds the record for most number of first round KO's. He went to 18-0 all KO's in the first round. A southpaw from Venezuela, Valero has stayed under the radar and we haven't been able to see much of him in the States but he just turned 26 years old so he has a lot of years left in the sport. His opponent Zavaleta of Mexico is not a big puncher but has never been stopped as a pro so he might be durable enough to last a while - but he's fighting Valero so he may not last that long.

Impressed

These fighters are in one of the hottest divisions in boxing with Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, Joan Guzman and Scotland's Alex Arthur, so I'm sure the winner will be looking ahead to a bigger fight down the line. Jorge Linares just won the WBC featherweight last July when he defeated Oscar Larios by stoppage win. This was his first US appearance and he definitely impressed the media and fans. Venezuelan Linares is 5ft 8in and still only 22 years old. He fights tall using his reach and has good footwork. He can box coming forward but is best moving backwards. His opponent, Diaz, is the top WBC contender. Diaz, from Mexico, is only 26 years old and stands one inch taller than his opponent at 5ft 9in. Out of his six defeats Diaz has been KO'd three times. His last loss was to IBF champions Robert Guerrero in June 2006 where he was down for the first time in his career. Linares will probably be too swift and accurate with his punches and could catch Diaz coming in to pull out a stoppage win in the middle rounds. However, if Diaz can stay close he has a chance but if he doesn't stay in tight, that's unlikely. This should be a great night of boxing and as for Valero's fight it could be an early night for him!