Outspoken WBC lightweight champion Edwin Valero accused the US government of discrimination on Friday, and said he would be unable to defend his title in November because his visa was not renewed in time.
Valero had never officially been added to the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s highly anticipated pay-per-view bout against Miguel Cotto, but Top Rank promoter Bob Arum had hoped that Valero would be able to defend his belt against junior lightweight champion Humberto Soto on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The 27-year-old Valero, who was born in Venezuela, said he completed all the required paperwork for the visa. Valero suggested that the application had been refused because of his sympathy for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez — a fierce critic of US policy in the region.
“I’ve been the subject of an act of discrimination, as well as my wife and my children, one of which was born in the United States,” Valero said in a statement from Caracas.
Valero (25-0, 20 KOs) said he was now planning to organize a fight for Dec. 12 in Caracas, which would be backed by private businesses and Chavez’s government.
“We all have our ideology, and we hope that they respect us,” said Valero, who has Chavez’s image tattooed on his chest. “I’m not a politician, I’m an athlete.”
Top Rank spokesman Lee Samuels said he was aware that Valero had a visa problem and might be unable to fight. The only bout that has been announced for the Pacquiao-Cotto undercard is WBA junior middleweight champion Daniel Santos defending his title against Yuri Foreman.
“We’ll have two more fights to announce, maybe next week,” Samuels said.
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Kody Clemens homered on Wednesday as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs. Castellanos had three hits and scored three times. Bryson Stott also had three hits and Brandon Marsh drove in three runs for the Phillies, who on Monday claimed their first National League East title in 13 years. Coupled with the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia secured the bye and home-field advantage in the NL Division Series. The Phillies owned the tiebreaker with the Brewers after winning the season series against the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946