Lightweight Jose Valenzuela is open to a rematch with Edwin De Los Santos, but his ultimate goal is a future fight with Shakur Stevenson.
Valenzuela defeated Diego Torres via a 10-round unanimous decision on Zuffa Boxing’s second card last weekend. A former junior welterweight titleholder, Valenzuela is one of the high-profile early signees of the promotion, along with current IBF cruiserweight titleholder Jai Opetaia.
Valenzuela, 15-3 (9 KOs), fought De Los Santos in 2024 as a late substitute after Valenzuela’s original opponent, Jezreel Corrales, was unable to obtain a travel visa. De Los Santos upset Valenzuela, knocking him out in the third round. With De Los Santos now part of Zuffa Boxing, the two fighters could meet again.
“It is definitely a fight I am interested in,” Valenzuela told BoxingScene. “At the time, Edwin wasn’t on the scene yet; there wasn’t much footage of him. I just took the fight and didn’t ask any questions. That is the kind of guy I am.”
Valenzuela, the former WBA junior welterweight titleholder, won his title against Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz when he was preparing to rematch De Los Santos. He received a call about facing Cruz. He jumped on it, and it was life-changing. His first defense, against Gary Antuanne Russell, taught him something: He is a lightweight.
“I thought I was going to put on all this muscle and become bigger and stronger than Russell,” Valenzuela said. “So I did that and I was walking around in training camp at 170lbs.”
After the loss, Valenzuela, a 26-year-old from Renton, Washington, stayed in the gym working on his craft. He didn’t feel like himself against Russell, but he believes he showed improvement against Torres.
“Even though I am young, I have experienced a lot,” Valenzuela said. “I know what I want to do and what I don’t want to do.”
Valenzuela signed with Zuffa Boxing to stay active and gain access to a training facility, including strength and conditioning resources. Despite being a former titleholder, Valenzuela hasn’t forgotten the days of hardship or his dreams being diminished.
“I had a lot of B-side moments in life,” Valenzuela said. “When you are a little kid and you have big dreams and people don’t take you seriously.”
Valenzuela is also angling for a fight one day with four-division titleholder Shakur Stevenson. Stevenson put on a masterful performance Saturday, outboxing Teofimo Lopez Jnr.
“I’ve been seeing Stevenson doing interviews saying he is a natural lightweight,” Valenzuela said. “So I would assume at 135lbs. But if he gave me the opportunity at 140lbs, I’d take it.”
Valenzuela thinks a future bout with Stevenson would be compelling based on his own physical stature (5ft 9ins) and ability, pointing out that Lopez is shorter than him and fights with his hands down. Those are seemingly small things that could make a big difference if he were to fight Stevenson.
“I think I could make things happen,” Valenzuela said. “I think we match up perfectly. He is a defensive fighter, and I am an offensive fighter.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
