Jose Valenzuela's 2nd Round KO of De Los Santos: He Called Out Shakur Stevenson and Means Business

Whoa, hold up. If you missed Zuffa Boxing 08, you missed a FREIGHT TRAIN of a main event. Jose Valenzuela flat-out REMOVED Edwin De Los Santos from the ring in the second round. Yeah, you read that right, a second-round knockout! And it wasn't merely any win, this was pure, unadulterated revenge for a loss Valenzuela suffered four years ago. He didn't just win, he made a statement so loud, the whole lightweight division probably felt it all the way here in the Emerald City.

Vengeance Served Cold in Las Vegas

Okay, so rewind. Back in 2022, Valenzuela and De Los Santos had a wild slugfest. Valenzuela, a kid back then, got knocked out in the third round. But Sunday night, in the Chelsea Ballroom at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, we saw a totally different fighter. Valenzuela, a former 140-pound titleholder, came in with a mission. De Los Santos, a 26-year-old slugger from the Dominican Republic, started slow in Round 1, then landed a flush left cross. But Valenzuela, the 27-year-old from Los Mochis, Mexico, adjusted quickly. He became a counterpuncher, timing his opponent perfectly. He hurt De Los Santos late in the first with a counter left, then followed up with a second left that clearly wobbled him. Valenzuela knew right then he had him.

"I Grew Up, I Matured": The Kn

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ockout and The Challenge Talk about growth! Valenzuela put it perfectly himself, saying, "I was a kid, I was a boy when we first fought. I grew up. I matured a lot and I evolved." He knew he was better than his "30% abilities" from the first fight. And man, did he show it! In Round 2, Valenzuela came out like a shark smelling blood. He landed a HUGE counter left hand to hurt De Los Santos again. Then "El Rayo" stayed on the attack, landing a perfect right hook to drop De Los Santos. The referee, Thomas Taylor, counted him out. De Los Santos couldn't get back up. That’s a career-defining moment, a resounding knockout at 2:05 of Round 2, pushing Valenzuela's record to 16-3 with 10 KOs. But he wasn't done talking. So, what's next for Valenzuela after that absolute clinic? He wasted zero time. He called out none other than Shakur Stevenson, the unbeaten junior welterweight titleholder and four-division champion, one of the best pound-for-pound boxers out there. Remember, Stevenson handed De Los Santos a tentative decision defeat in 2023. Valenzuela wants that smoke! He declared, "I want Shakur Stevenson. He's a hell of a fighter and I would love to compete with him. Styles make fights. I'm a real fighter." With a statement KO like that, who are we to argue? Valenzuela just put the entire division on notice, and Seattle fans should absolutely be pumped for what's coming next from this dude!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.