COMBAT SPORTS
Torres ready to shine despite opponent swap
Albuquerque welterweight Josh Torres faces a late replacement Friday, vowing to win in spectacular fashion regardless of who steps into the ring.
Earlier this week, the UNM men鈥檚 basketball team added Mississippi Valley State to its 2026-27 non-conference basketball schedule. The Delta Devils are road warriors who almost never win but will go anywhere, play anyone, to sustain their program financially.
One might say that Jose Valenzuela Alvarado is the professional boxing equivalent of the Delta Devils.
Valenzuela, a native of Puebla, Mexico, will bring a 4-28-4 record (no typo) into his scheduled welterweight bout against Albuquerque鈥檚 Josh Torres (30-7-2, 17 KOs) on Friday at the Embassy Suites.
Valenzuela is a late replacement for Mexican countryman Alejandro Frias Rodriguez (21-13-2, 12 KOs), who withdrew, event promoter Aaron Perez said at Thursday鈥檚 weigh-in, with a shoulder injury.
Valenzuela has stepped in to fill a hole in Friday鈥檚 card, just as Mississippi Valley State has filled a hole in UNM鈥檚 schedule.
Torres expressed disappointment in the change of opponents but said his mindset has not changed. Would not the Lobos want to give their best effort against Mississippi Valley State, just as they would against New Mexico State?
鈥淚 want to go out there and not just win, but win in spectacular fashion,鈥 Torres said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not who you beat but how you beat them.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate that we had to change opponents the way we did, but there鈥檚 things in boxing that are just out of our control. There鈥檚 nothing we can do about it, so we just continue to train hard and move forward.鈥
And, regarding Valenzuela, there鈥檚 this: Among his 28 losses, only one has come by knockout or TKO.
Valenzuela鈥檚 only loss by stoppage occurred in March 2025 in Indio, California, against 2024 Olympian Ruslan Abdullaev of Uzbekistan. Torres will seek to be the second fighter to stop Valenzuela short of the distance.
There鈥檚 this, too. Valenzuela鈥檚 strength of schedule rivals, perhaps surpasses, that of the Delta Devils.
鈥淗e鈥檚 very tough, very durable,鈥 Torres said. 鈥淥f those 28 losses, I think only two (of his opponents) had losing records. He鈥檚 fought nothing but undefeated and tough prospects.鈥
Torres鈥 bout against Frias was to be for the UBO welterweight (147-pound) title. But Jeremy Lantz, the UBO supervisor in attendance, said the organization could not justify awarding a title after the change of opponents, given Valenzuela鈥檚 record.
Torres weighed in on Thursday at 146.6 pounds, Valenzuela at 146.8.
The bout is scheduled for eight rounds.
UBO, IT鈥橲 A GO: Albuquerque鈥檚 Cristian Cabral鈥檚 bid for his first professional title 鈥 the UBO Intercontinental middleweight belt 鈥 appeared in jeopardy at Thursday鈥檚 weigh-in when his opponent, Martin Sollano, weighed in 2.4 pounds over the 160-pound limit. For title bouts, fighters must make the contracted weight.
But somehow, promoter Perez said, Sollano, a native of Mexico who lives in Amarillo, Texas, was able to shed almost 4 pounds in the two hours allotted for the purpose. The title fight is on.
Cabral (11-2-2, five KOs) weighed in at 158.6 pounds. Sollano (5-0, three KOs), after time in a sauna or perhaps just a run in 100-degree heat, weighed 158.8.
THE UNDERCARD: San Felipe Pueblo鈥檚 Clinton Chavez (9-2, six KOs) weighed in at 159.8 pounds for his scheduled six-round middleweight bout against Wesley Vanderlinden ( 4-3, four KOs) of Simi Valley, California. Vanderlinden also weighed 159.8 pounds.
German Ponce (1-0), of Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, weighed in at 134.8 pounds for his four-round lightweight bout against David Bedai Quiros (pro debut) of Tijuana, Baja California. Bedai weighed in at 132.6.
Albuquerque鈥檚 Shaun Henson (2-6, two KOs) weighed in at 159.6 for his four-round middleweight bout against Miguel Lozano Castillo (3-4, two KOs) of Juarez, Chihuahua. Lozano was not at Thursday鈥檚 weigh-in but was expected to arrive on Friday.
HAMMER TIME: Albuquerque鈥檚 Abraham 鈥淗ammer鈥 Perez (15-0, seven KOs), the WBA interim world flyweight champion, is scheduled for an autograph session between 6-7 p.m. before Friday鈥檚 card.