The Horrific End for Edwin Valero

Beautifully written and sums up my feelings about the entire situation.

I wrote a blog about this roughly two hours ago and said some of the same things. It’s just a tragic situation that no matter how many words we write about it, no matter how many hours we spend wondering why, and no matter how many things we look at, it’ll just never change the outcome. It affects us all at a very deep and profound level. It brings us back to the reality that, deep down, we’re all human. We all make mistakes. Some are worse than others and some are just downright despicable. We’ll never know the full extent of what was going on and what happened. I guess the one thing we can look at is that Edwin Valero the boxer was far from Edwin Valero the man and vice versa. While his style in the ring may have been violent, it was a beautiful violence to watch. You cannot say the same thing about Edwin Valero the man. I wish his family, his wife’s family, and his kids all the best in this troubled time. I will pray for them.

I leave you with a small tidbit of what I wrote earlier on my blog.

As sad as a story as this is, it bears reminding that no matter what you do in life, you have to take responsibility for your actions. He didn’t. As talented of a boxer as Edwin Valero was, he was just as troubled of a human being. His demons got the best of him and he could not batter them into submission the way he was used to doing to his opponents in the ring. It doesn’t work that way. He couldn’t admit that he had a problem. He couldn’t admit that he was too weak and he finally ended up doing something so despicable that it took the life of a beautiful young woman and it took a mother away from his kids. Not only did his kids lose a mother, but they ended up losing their father as well. And no kid should have to go through that as they grow up.

“[We never said anything because] we were threatened with death. We have to take the blame for what happened [for not speaking up earlier], but so do the authorities of this country and President Hugo Chávez. Because Valero was an athlete, he received preferential treatment, so they too are responsible for what happened,” Evelio Finol said.

Past the obvious tragedy, there’s an unavoidable political dimension to all of this. It’s hard to understate how big of a celebrity Valero was in Venezuela, or how strong his ties to the Chavez government were. Venezuela is a very troubled place, and Caracas in particular is a dangerous town to be on the wrong side of the political argument. For Finol to make this sort of public statement about Hugo Chavez can be a very risky thing to do. Just a last month, Chavez imprisoned the president of Globovision, the last remaining Venezuelan TV network to be critical of his policies. Venezuela just bought another 5 billion of Russian arms, and has been making noises about Colombia and the Faulklands. The situation down there is bad enough, and this sort of incident is the kind of thing that stirs the mood in the streets.

I remember an interview Manny Steward did recently where he was talking about the enormity of Louis-Schmeling II, and how it became both a symbol and a bellweather for what was going on in the world at the time. There might be a similar situation happening here. I also think that a Klitschko-Povetkin fight would take on a larger symbolism and political meaning in light of what’s just happened in Ukraine (and what’s been going on in Georgia, Poland and some other former Soviet "satellite: states), although it would probably escape the average American.

Yes, well said.

If Valero were still alive today, I would want him to spend the rest of his life in prison. But I think it is still appropriate to be saddened by his death. Maybe he was mentally ill, maybe not, maybe he was brain-damaged, maybe not. Either way, the fact remains that he was a human being with redeeming value somewhere in him, and his downfall and death were a tragedy. And obviously, his wife’s death is an even greater tragedy. Not to mention that it was all a tragic waste of talent, but that’s secondary.

(P.S. Is that an old-school Milwaukee Brewers headband he’s wearing in that picture? That’s odd.)

Great job, Scott.

Great article, SC. I went back and watched part of the Valero-Demarco fight because I was trying to show my Dad who Valero was. I don’t know how a boxing fan forgets the guy with 27 straight KO’s and a giant Hugo Chavez tat on his chest, but anyway. Watching the clip of his wife and children before the fight was heartbreaking. His wife was so beautiful with a timid smile. His kids, especially his son, seemed thrilled to be there and be on TV. I truly hope Grandpa Arum takes care of the family.

I have learned long ago to never try to make sense of the senseless. You do your best to understand it and then move on as best you can.

"Like a bird singing in the rain,

Let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow."

Robert Louis Stevenson

I must be a bastard for not dwelling longer in the tragedy for the family and for loved ones, but one of my first thoughts was about how I would like to research Valero’s life and story for a novel (or at least an in-depth literary magazine piece). So many dimensions here to be explored.

“We at Bad Left Hook send our heartfelt best wishes to those who knew and loved Jennifer Carolina Viera, especially her two children. May you find peace.” that says it all .

SC, A dignified way to put this one to temprary rest, as opposed to the other sites that are sensationlizing this tragedy to up their post counts.

SC… perhaps one of the most poignant pieces you have written on BLH.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5120390

“I love and respect women. Violence against women is simply unacceptable,” Martinez said. “The great number of cases, too often involving athletes, requires action. I have always confided in my mother and consider myself to be a momma’s boy. Women must be respected, not abused.”

Valero, who was suspected of repeatedly battering his 24-year-old wife, Jennifer Carolina Viera, allegedly stabbed her to death in a hotel room in their native Venezuela before reportedly confessing to the crime and then hanging himself in his jail cell.

Valero, 28, also struggled with drugs, alcohol and depression. According to Venezuelan news reports that he denied, he was arrested on charges that he had hit his mother and a sister in September.

“Sergio is going to petition the different sanctioning bodies and the different boxing dignitaries to make them know he is serious in this effort,” said Sampson Lewkowicz, Martinez’s adviser. “We can create a foundation that makes a world of difference to women everywhere.”

Promoter Lou DiBella said he will enlist the Boxing Promoters Association to help in the cause.

“I am proud of Sergio for attempting to use his newfound fame to help address a terrible problem, which must be eradicated,” DiBella said.