By: Sean Crose
Chris Colbert took on Jose Valenzuela Saturday night on the pay-per-view card of David Benavidez-Caleb Plant’s super-middleweight knockdown. Colbert entered the ring for a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with a 16-1 record while Valenzuela hit the opening bell with a 12-1 record. A single shot knocked Colbert down early in the first round. Colbert stood up, but Valenzuela immediately rushed to destroy. Colbert tried to fight back, but the opening chapter clearly belonged to Valenzuela. Colbert had a much better moment when he used his speed effectively and landed well.
Colbert combined his punches well in the third round. Both men fought fast and hard in the fourth round. No one had much success in game five, as each one seemed to be trying to find their own loophole. Colbert appears to have suffered an eye injury during the sixth game, which Valenzuela immediately took advantage of by violently shooting him in the face. Colbert, who the ring doctor said only suffered from eye spasms, went to work for Valenzuela in the seventh installment, moving forward and landing well. Valenzuela responded by viciously taking down Colbert in the eighth round.
The ninth round was another quick and intense round, but Valenzuela seemed to have made it through with effective aggression. With that said, the man looked tired in his corner between rounds. The tenth and final round saw skirmishes with amazing speed and sharpness. Colbert did a great job with his stab…but Valenzuela seems to have injured Colbert just before the final bell rang. It was certainly a close match, but Colbert won thanks to a controversial unanimous decision, which prompted boos from the crowd and the two boxers exchanging nasty words after the scoreboard was read.
