Edwin De Los Santos will get another chance to prove himself when he faces Jose Valenzuela in a rematch this Sunday, June 28 at Zuffa 08, and Teddy Atlas believes Dominican puncher De Los Santos still has a significant edge despite years of inactivity.
Atlas acknowledged that Valenzuela has accomplished much more since their first meeting in September 2022. After suffering a third-round knockout loss to De Los Santos, Valenzuela rebuilt his career, won a world title, lost it to Gary Antuanne Russell, and recently returned to the win column.
De Los Santos, by comparison, has only fought twice since defeating Valenzuela. One of those bouts was his 12-round unanimous decision loss to Shakur Stevenson in November 2023.
Despite that difference in activity, Atlas is backing De Los Santos to win the rematch.
“I think De Los Santos is a more explosive fighter,” Atlas said on his podcast. “I love Valenzuela. He’s a real fighter. I do. But De Los Santos, I think, is just more talented as far as you’re going to look at pure talent.”
Atlas also believes De Los Santos (17-2, 15 KOs) carries a psychological advantage into the fight due to the outcome of their first meeting.
“He’s a guy going in there. I don’t care if it was four years ago. He knocked him out. He’s got that edge. I’m going with De Los Santos,” Atlas said.
The fighters first met in a wild contest that saw both men hit the canvas before De Los Santos finished Rayo Valenzuela (15-3, 9 KOs) in the third round. Since then, Valenzuela has gained experience against opponents like Isaac Cruz and Antuanne Russell, while De Los Santos has spent much of the past three years on the sidelines.
The rematch takes place on Sunday as part of the latest Zuffa Boxing card at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, with De Los Santos looking to show that the outcome of the first fight was no fluke and Valenzuela aiming to erase the biggest loss of his career.
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Last updated on 2026/06/23 at 23:57
