Jose Valenzuela KOs Edwin De Los Santos in Two

Jose Valenzuela did not so much avenge his defeat by Edwin De Los Santos as wipe it from the front of the conversation with one right hook.

Four years after De Los Santos had stopped him in three rounds in a wild first meeting, Valenzuela returned the favour in Las Vegas with a second-round knockout that was as sudden as it was conclusive. The official time was 2min 05sec of the second round, and there was no requirement for argument, arithmetic or the assistance of three men with pencils at ringside.

The bout, staged at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, had been sold on the memory of their first encounter, when both men had gone down before De Los Santos finished Valenzuela in the third. That loss had remained the heaviest mark on Valenzuela’s record, not merely because he was beaten, but because he was beaten violently. Here, at lightweight, he showed that the years since had not been wasted.

The opening round was cautious at first, both southpaws aware of the danger in the other man’s hands. De Los Santos, powerful and naturally aggressive, tried to establish himself with straight shots from range, and he did have an early success when he landed a clean shot that reminded Valenzuela of old business. But Valenzuela was no longer the reckless fighter from the first meeting. He absorbed the moment, adjusted his distance and began looking for the counter rather than rushing in with his chin available for inspection.

By the end of the first round, the fight had already begun to turn. Valenzuela found De Los Santos with a heavy left hand late in the session and followed it with another clean shot that left the Dominican visibly affected. It was not a knockdown, but it was the sort of moment a fighter carries back to the corner along with his stool and water bottle. De Los Santos returned for the second round, no longer looking quite so eager to exchange.

Valenzuela sensed it immediately. He came out with more purpose, pressing without becoming careless, forcing De Los Santos to work at a pace he plainly did not fancy. The finish came when Valenzuela drew him in and delivered a right hook that landed with chilling accuracy. De Los Santos went down and could not beat the count.

There was some discussion afterwards about a follow-up punch landing as De Los Santos was already on a knee, but the decisive damage had already been done. Referee Thomas Taylor counted him out, and De Los Santos was in no condition to complain with much conviction. Boxing has produced worse controversies than a man being unable to stand after being hit clean by a punch he never properly saw.

For Valenzuela, now 16-3 with 10 knockouts, this was a career-restoring win of considerable value. He had been a world champion at 140lb, but this victory at 135lb places him straight back into meaningful conversation. It also showed a maturity that was missing in the first fight. Instead of being dragged into another reckless exchange, he used the threat of De Los Santos’ aggression against him.

De Los Santos, now 17-3, remains dangerous, but this was a damaging setback. Since beating Valenzuela in 2022, he had built a reputation as an awkward, heavy-handed lightweight, not least through his cagey title challenge against Shakur Stevenson. But here he was caught, hurt and finished before he could impose any serious pattern on the fight.

Valenzuela called for Stevenson afterwards, which is ambitious, but ambition is rarely in short supply on nights when a fighter has just flattened an old conqueror. Whether that fight comes next is another matter. What is certain is that Valenzuela has given himself a far stronger case than he had a few hours earlier.

This was not a long or complicated fight. It was a rematch settled by improvement, composure and one beautifully timed punch. Valenzuela had waited years for revenge. When it came, he needed barely six minutes.