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PASSAIC — Victor Valenzuela doesn't know a whole lot about Daniel Lornezana.
The featherweight from Passaic suspects Lornezana doesn't know much about him, either. Otherwise, Valenzuela figures, Lornezana might've passed on their four-round fight scheduled Thursday night in East Rutherford.
Valenzuela, 21, has grown used to club-level fighters avoiding him since the prospect made his pro debut nearly a year ago. The accomplished amateur assumed he would've had at least seven or eight bouts on his record 11 months into his pro career. He is 4-0 entering his fight against Miami's Lornezana (4-3-1, two KOs) and a victim of his own reputation as an unusually tall 126-pounder with power in both hands, a wealth of experience and a brutal body attack.
Even with an experienced team of handlers, including Arturo Gatti's longtime manager, the 5-foot-10 Valenzuela hasn't fought since scoring a four-round unanimous decision over Jason Rorie (1-1-1, one KO) on July 31 in North Bergen.
"It has definitely put the pressure on me," Valenzuela said of fighting infrequently. "In the amateurs, I could have a bad day. But now, I don't have time for any mistakes. Now it's time to step up. We were going to fight a kid who was 8-1 [Thursday night]. That's how desperate we got. Now we're fighting a kid who's 4-3.
"It doesn't matter. I haven't fought since July. I feel like you've got a pit bull that's been caged up with nobody feeding it. Now you're letting him out. That's how it feels. A knockout is definitely coming. It ain't going to be no decision."
Lornezana, 26, has been knocked out once since he made his pro debut in December 2006. New York's Argenis Mendez (13-1, eight KOs) decked him in the second round of their August 2007 fight in Arcadia, Fla.
He'll face Valenzuela on a seven-bout card at the Meadowlands Sheraton Hotel staged by Little Falls-based Knockout Promotions.
Lornezana arrived in New Jersey on Tuesday, a step several of Valenzuela's contracted opponents have not taken after agreeing to fight him since he turned pro.
"As soon as you say his name, everybody knows him," Jersey City's Mike Skowronski, Valenzuela's trainer, said in reference to making matches for him. "And then when you put up on the Internet that he has 270 amateur wins, for somebody to fight him for 800 bucks, they're not going to do that."
Proposed opponents have asked for as much as $3,000 to face Valenzuela, twice what Valenzuela usually earns for fights on non-televised shows. The most his handlers have been willing to pay is $1,800 to Rorie, a green, game Winston-Salem, N.C., resident who tested an ill Valenzuela at Schuetzen Park.
Valenzuela withstood the tough, durable Rorie's counter shots, landed an array of his own power punches and outworked Rorie for much of an exciting encounter that brought fans to their feet at its conclusion. He won, 39-37, on all three scorecards.
"I felt like I opened up my fans' and the public's eyes on July 31," said Valenzuela, who works the graveyard shift at UPS in Secaucus to help support his 2-year-old daughter. "I fought a hard kid when I was sick. I had a fever and there's not a lot of guys you'll find who'll go the distance, and hard, when they're sick. I truly believe that it showed me, it showed my coaches, my promoters and my management that I've got a lot of will. I want to learn and I want to fight."
The featherweight from Passaic suspects Lornezana doesn't know much about him, either. Otherwise, Valenzuela figures, Lornezana might've passed on their four-round fight scheduled Thursday night in East Rutherford.
Valenzuela, 21, has grown used to club-level fighters avoiding him since the prospect made his pro debut nearly a year ago. The accomplished amateur assumed he would've had at least seven or eight bouts on his record 11 months into his pro career. He is 4-0 entering his fight against Miami's Lornezana (4-3-1, two KOs) and a victim of his own reputation as an unusually tall 126-pounder with power in both hands, a wealth of experience and a brutal body attack.
Even with an experienced team of handlers, including Arturo Gatti's longtime manager, the 5-foot-10 Valenzuela hasn't fought since scoring a four-round unanimous decision over Jason Rorie (1-1-1, one KO) on July 31 in North Bergen.
"It has definitely put the pressure on me," Valenzuela said of fighting infrequently. "In the amateurs, I could have a bad day. But now, I don't have time for any mistakes. Now it's time to step up. We were going to fight a kid who was 8-1 [Thursday night]. That's how desperate we got. Now we're fighting a kid who's 4-3.
"It doesn't matter. I haven't fought since July. I feel like you've got a pit bull that's been caged up with nobody feeding it. Now you're letting him out. That's how it feels. A knockout is definitely coming. It ain't going to be no decision."
Lornezana, 26, has been knocked out once since he made his pro debut in December 2006. New York's Argenis Mendez (13-1, eight KOs) decked him in the second round of their August 2007 fight in Arcadia, Fla.
He'll face Valenzuela on a seven-bout card at the Meadowlands Sheraton Hotel staged by Little Falls-based Knockout Promotions.
Lornezana arrived in New Jersey on Tuesday, a step several of Valenzuela's contracted opponents have not taken after agreeing to fight him since he turned pro.
"As soon as you say his name, everybody knows him," Jersey City's Mike Skowronski, Valenzuela's trainer, said in reference to making matches for him. "And then when you put up on the Internet that he has 270 amateur wins, for somebody to fight him for 800 bucks, they're not going to do that."
Proposed opponents have asked for as much as $3,000 to face Valenzuela, twice what Valenzuela usually earns for fights on non-televised shows. The most his handlers have been willing to pay is $1,800 to Rorie, a green, game Winston-Salem, N.C., resident who tested an ill Valenzuela at Schuetzen Park.
Valenzuela withstood the tough, durable Rorie's counter shots, landed an array of his own power punches and outworked Rorie for much of an exciting encounter that brought fans to their feet at its conclusion. He won, 39-37, on all three scorecards.
"I felt like I opened up my fans' and the public's eyes on July 31," said Valenzuela, who works the graveyard shift at UPS in Secaucus to help support his 2-year-old daughter. "I fought a hard kid when I was sick. I had a fever and there's not a lot of guys you'll find who'll go the distance, and hard, when they're sick. I truly believe that it showed me, it showed my coaches, my promoters and my management that I've got a lot of will. I want to learn and I want to fight."