By Ryan Burton
Luis "Orlandito" Del Valle (12-0) has been training hard for the biggest fight of his career to date which takes place in New York on June 11th on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade. The fighter of Puerto Rican descent takes on Dat Nguyen (17-1) in the co-featured bout that will be broadcast on Showtime's ShoBox series. Del Valle talks about the keys to coming away with a victory, his future plans, and more in this exclusive interview found only on BoxingScene.com.
BoxingScene: Tell us abour your big fight coming up versus Dat Nguyen on June 11th that will be televised by ShoBox?
Luis Del Valle: I am excited man. I didn't know I was going to get a main event that quick in my career. Especially being the day before the Puerto Rican Day parade. This is something that has been going on with Puerto Ricans fighting the day before the parade for a long time. Guys coming up like me dream about fighting on that day. I still can't believe it. I am just training hard and staying focused. I know I am going to win the fight. After this fight the sky will be the limit.
BoxingScene: Lets talk about your opponent for a minute. Dat Nguyen is 17-1. He doesn't have a lot of power but he is crafty and likes to come forward. What do you think is going to be the key to the fight?
Luis Del Valle: Dat is a warrior. He throws a lot of punches and he does just keeps coming forward. I saw a couple of videos of him. I know that my quickness and my movement will be the key to the fight. Every time I see him he looks good hitting people. He is going to see how good he looks when he gets hit.
BoxingScene: This will be both you and Dat's first fight scheduled for 10 rounds. If it goes the distance do you feel that you will be the better conditioned fighter and better prepared to go the full 10 rounds if necessary?
Luis Del Valle: I don't think it will be a problem at all. I have boxed 10 rounds in the gym before. If the fight goes the full 10 rounds it isn't like I haven't done it before. I have been fighting for a little over 10 years and I am ready for whatever. I will predict though that this fight won't go the distance. The rate of punches that Dat throws and the way that I throw punches at some point in the fight somebody is going to have to give in and I guarantee that it isn't going to be me.
BoxingScene: We can tell that you are very confident. Do you feel a little more pressure being that your fight is on the night before the Puerto Rican Day parade? Do you feel like you really need to put a show on for the fans and does that make you want to get a knockout even more?
Luis Del Valle: Not at all. This is like math. 1+1=2. When you put Dat and me in the middle of the ring it is just straight up fireworks. There is no pressure at all. I know he is going to come and sooner or later it is going to happen. I have been in New York for so long and I have been going to Roseland (Ballroom. Where the fight is being held at) and seen a lot of fights there. I feel like this is just another regular fight. No pressure at all. It will be a great night for boxing. I just feel ready to fight. No pressure at all.
BoxingScene: Your fight is televised on ShoBox so you will be getting a lot of exposure. What do you think a win over Nguyen will lead to? How close do you think you will be to fighting for a title?
Luis Del Valle: We are actually fighting for the NABF title which is affiliated with the WBA. That will move me up in the ranks with the WBA and a win will help me to keep climbing up the ladder getting me more fights that will lead me to a world title eventually.
BoxingScene: Chris John and Yuriorkis Gamboa have the WBA featherweight titles. Do you think that if you beat Nguyen like you plan that you would need 2 or 3 more fights after that and then you would be ready for one of those champions?
Luis Del Valle: Time will tell. I am 24 years old right now and I only have 12 pro fights right now but I think that sometime in 2012 we will start looking for that title shot. When the time is right, whoever has the belt is who we are going for. It doesn't matter if its Gamboa, John or whoever else may have the belt. My goal is to be a champion and we are going to start aiming for that goal once 2012 arrives. Whoever has the belt is the one that we are going for.
BoxingScene: Do you have a message for the fans?
Luis Del Valle: Everybody thanks for your support. Make sure you come out on June 11th to the Roseland Ballroom. It is going to be a great night of boxing. I am going to make sure that I keep everybody out of their seats. If you can't come out to fights make sure that you watch Showtime. You are not going to regret it man. It is going to be a great night. You are going to have two fighters going at each other and it is going to be war.
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