By Mark Vester
Edwin Valero (24-0, 24KOs) dominated and then stopped Japan's Takehiro Shimada (22-4-1, 15KOs) in the seventh-round to retain his WBA super featherweight title in Tokyo, Japan. Valero closed the deal with a right hook in the seventh-round to send Shimada down and force referee Guillermo Perez Pineda to stop the bout.
During a recent interview with MaxBoxing/BoxingScene.com's Doug Fischer, Valero said that he would consider a move up in weight since all of the big names at super featherweight are moving up to the lightweight division. Valero said the jump in weight would have to come with a solid contract to fight Manny Pacquiao. At the same time, he said the biggest fight at 130 is against Juan Manuel Marquez, who himself is about to move to 135 to challenge Joel Casamayor, which leaves Valero with few big money options at the weight.
“If I got an opportunity to fight a lightweight with a name, then yes, I would go up in weight. I’d do it immediately to fight Pacquiao or Marquez or Nate Campbell," Valero said.
Yes, Valero is one fighter who is not walking away from a fight with Campbell, who is facing Joan Guzman, another super featherweight moving up to 135, in August.
“From what I saw in his fight with Juan Diaz, he’s a man with a lot of heart and stamina,” Valero said. “We would make for a great fight because I have a lot of heart and stamina, and we don’t give up so easy.”
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