By Mark Vester
On Wednesday in El Vigian, Venezuela, hundreds of fans, friends and relatives attended the funeral of Edwin Valero, who killed himself on Monday in a jail cell. Valero was arrested on Sunday for the murder of his wife Jennifer Carolina. Fans, friends and relatives were very upset, with many of them in tears. Valero's body was taken to a local gym where he once trained and later buried at a nearby cemetery. His wife was buried at the same cemetery on Tuesday. Valero, high on drugs and alcohol, had stabbed his wife to death in their hotel room in Valencia. He was arrested by local police after he approaching hotel employees and confessed to the crime, though he later denied the confession to police. Valero used his pants to hang himself.
During Wednesday's service, Priest Esteban Gudino said he hoped Valero "receives the mercy of our Lord. It's a tragedy for all of use when the life of a youngster ends like this. Hopefully, this will serve others to emulate his positive side, and they'll distance themselves from drugs and alcohol."
Valero's fans shouted "Champion! Champion!" from a caravan of motorcycles and cars that followed the Hurst carrying his coffin.
The children of Valero and his wife, ages 9 and 5, have been taken in by the boxer's sister. A local court will decide whether they will live with her or stay with Jennifer's mother.
Valero's last fight took place in Mexico in February, where he stopped mandatory challenger and interim-champion Antonio DeMarco. Valero had a perfect record of 27 wins, no defeats, and all 27 wins came by way of knockout.