Jose Valenzuela made a statement in Zuffa Boxing’s first event on the Las Vegas Strip, knocking out Edwin De Los Santos in the second round Sunday at the Chelsea inside the Cosmopolitan. The victory avenged a previous loss to De Los Santos, who had stopped Valenzuela in their first meeting.
Valenzuela (16-3, 10 KOs) landed a counter right hook that sent De Los Santos (17-3, 15 KOs) to a knee, then followed with a short left that put him on the canvas. Referee Thomas Taylor counted to 10 at 2:05 of the round as the near-capacity crowd erupted.
“It was a beautiful experience for me,” said the 27-year-old Mexican, who resides in Renton, Washington. “Just from the start of the week, seeing my name on the big billboards down the Strip, it was a dream come true. … It really motivated me, and then just coming out to this beautiful theater, man — the people, the atmosphere was amazing.”
After the fight, Valenzuela called for a matchup with 140-pound champion Shakur Stevenson.
The event marked Zuffa Boxing’s first card outside the Meta Apex, where the promotion had held its first six shows. The Chelsea, with a capacity more than double the Apex, provided a glitzy backdrop for the eight-fight card that started at 2 p.m.
In the co-feature, Cain Sandoval (18-1, 15 KOs) won a 10-round decision over Brandun Lee (30-1, 23 KOs) at welterweight. Omar Trinidad (21-0-2, 14 KOs) remained unbeaten with a featherweight win over former IBF champion Jerwin Ancajas (38-5-1, 25 KOs).
UFC president Dana White, also a Zuffa co-founder, watched from ringside and praised the venue. “This is a great venue. Great venue for fights,” White said. “I like it here and the fans were awesome tonight. But there was a lot to get excited about tonight. It was a great card.”
Valenzuela, a former WBA super lightweight champion who lost his title to Gary Antuanne Russell last year, signed with Zuffa Boxing after that defeat. He said he took pride in headlining the promotion’s Strip debut. “For Zuffa to take this lead with me, I took that with a lot of pride, man. I wanted to come out and show out,” he said.
