When Dominic Valle’s most recent fight was canceled, no one could have known there would be a silver lining.
Two months ago, Valle was scheduled to face Iron Alvarez on a ProBox card in Lakeland, Florida. That was, until Alvarez blew the 131lbs catchweight by more than four pounds and wouldn’t try to cut any further. Instead, Valle was a spectator that night as his brothers Marques and Kenyan registered wins.
Now, Dominic Valle, 11-0 (7 KOs), will get to uphold the family name on his own when he faces Mexico’s Miguel Torres, 15-2 (9 KOs), on November 7 on a ProBox TV card at RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida. The eight-round bout will be part of a card headlined by the intriguing Delante "Tiger" Johnson vs. Nicklaus Flaz showdown.
Valle says that most recent experience helped bring him to another level of intensity.
“This fight, I’m coming in different,” said the 24-year-old Valle, of Lutz, Florida. "I’m for sure the strongest I’ve ever been. The last fight falling out really woke up something new in me.
“I want to prove to myself and everyone that I’m next level, and I need to start fighting these next-level opponents and start making my way to the top of the sport, where I know I belong. These guys right now at this level don’t deserve to be in the ring with me, if we’re speaking truthfully.”
Valle admits he hasn’t seen much of the 26-year-old Torres, of Guadalajara, Mexico, but adds that he doesn’t usually like to watch much video of his opponents, preferring to take note of any tendencies he notices early and then allow his training and preparation to help him adjust.
Valle says that, although he has gone the distance in his past two fights, he isn’t worried about pressing for a knockout against Torres, saying he has gained valuable experience by going eight rounds in back-to-back fights.
What he does hope to do is show, in a fight about an hour’s drive from his hometown, that he deserves consideration among the best young fighters in his weight class.
“I’m just looking to bring myself higher in the rankings, in the best way that I feel is possible,” Valle said. "Just getting my name out there, getting my recognition and showing the boxing scene what I really am, which is the future of the sport."
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
