Jose “El Rayo” Valenzuela recently was named 2021 Premier Boxing Champions “Prospect of the Year” as determined by fan voting. Valenzeula took home 67.8% of the fan vote based on his outstanding performances in 2021. Valenzuela is only 22 years old.
Originally from the boxing hotbed of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, Valenzuela has been training out of Seattle for some time. El Rayo trained as an amateur at Azteca Boxing, honing his skills under the tutelage of Mario Rodriguez. As a pro, Valenzuela switched camps to Benavidez Sports, training under Jose Benavidez Sr. and alongside two-time WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez and longtime contender Jose Benavidez Jr.
Valenzuela is also a former sparring partner of Teofimo Lopez. Valenzuela gained some measure of notoriety in the online boxing community for reportedly dropping Lopez during one of their sparring sessions.
Valenzuela is a talented prospect with an exciting fighting style. The southpaw brings big power to his fights and has a crowd pleasing offensive style. Some boxing commentators have even compared him to the legendary Manny Pacquiao as Valenzuela is wont to throw caution to the wind during his fights, seemingly throwing every punch hard, while also being able to take a heavy shot in the process. Valenzuela is also an interesting fighter as he can be very creative by throwing at different angles and with varying pace.
Valenzuela was very active in 2021, winning all five of his fights to improve his record to 11-0, with 7 knockouts. Valenzuela won the PBC Prospect of the Year award by putting on several exciting fights throughout the year. El Rayo also significantly stepped up the level of competition he faced when he fought the 31 year old Deiner Berrio in September in Valenzuela’s first main event slot. Berrio entered that fight with a significant experience advantage, bringing a record of 22-3-1 into the fight. Berrio, a defensive specialist, was the first fighter to take Valenzuela into the fifth round. Valenzuela won the fight by unanimous decision. Prior to the fight, Valenzuela had stopped all of his opponents in fights scheduled for 5 or more rounds prior to the fifth round.
In Valenzuela’s final bout of 2021, he defeated a game Austin Dulay by 4th round TKO. It was another high quality win for Valenzuela as Dulay had entered the fight recently facing some top competition.
In 2022 look for Valenzuela to take on bigger fights as the rising prospect continues to mature and grow his fanbase. You can follow Valenzuela on both Twitter and Instagram @rayoboxing.
