Valenzuela looks to build off Cruz win in tough first defense vs. Russell
WBA 140-pound title bout is Tank-Roach co-feature on Saturday
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It wasn’t that long ago that many questioned whether Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela would live up to his vast potential after suffering back-to-back losses.
Edwin De Los Santos knocked him out in the third round in September 2022 and then he dropped a disputed 10-round decision to Chris Colbert six months later.
But from that dark hole, Valenzuela has come back strong. He pummeled Colbert in a spectacular sixth-round knockout in an immediate rematch in December 2023 and then, under the guidance of new trainer Robert Garcia, moved up from lightweight and won a hard-fought split decision over Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz to take the WBA junior welterweight title on Aug. 3 on the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov undercard in Los Angeles.
“Having Robert Garcia in my corner gives me a lot of confidence,” Valenzuela said of the reigning trainer of the year. “He’s really fixed my fundamentals. Everything comes together nicely when we’re working together. I’ve been conquering every day with hard work. I'm taking it all in and learning each day. It’s just about learning the techniques and working hard.”
Now, Valenzuela is set for his first title defense and filled with confidence thanks to those two strong consecutive wins and a belief in Garcia, who he hired to replace Jose Benavidez Sr.
Valenzuela will defend the 140-pound belt against Gary Antuanne Russell in the co-feature of the PBC on Prime Video PPV headlined by Gervonta Davis’ WBA lightweight title defense against WBA junior lightweight titleholder Lamont Roach Jr. on Saturday (Prime Video PPV, PPV.COM, 8 p.m. ET, $79.95) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
