Chris Colbert Seeks Bounce-back Win Tonight

Chris Colbert looks to bounce back and get on the winning track tonight in Las Vegas. The NJ-based boxer took his first L in his last outing, on Feb. 26, 2023. He lost to Hector Luis Garcia, an unheralded hitter who scored an upset win, and parlayed that into a date with Gervonta Davis.

The Brooklyn-born Colbert is 16-1, with 6 KOs. He gets busy this evening against 12-1 Jose Valenzuela, a lefty born in Mexico, residing in Washington state.

Chris Colbert faces off with Jose Valenzuela at the weigh in. (Esther Lin photos)

“El Rayo” too comes in off tasting his first loss as a pro; on Sept. 4, 2022, Valenzuela lost via KO in round three in a nasty firefight against Edwin De Los Santos.

Yes, the stakes will be a wee bit higher for this undercard tango. Neither guy wants to have back to back Ls on their ledger.

Colbert’s bio off the PBC website

I asked Colbert’s trainer, Brooklyner Aureliano Sosa, for some insights into this scrap:

“I have to give credit to both fighters for taking a tough fight on their return to the ring,” Sosa told me. “Jose Valenzuela suffered a tough KO defeat, and when they get kayoed like that, they are not the same after. Christopher Colbert had a bad day in the office his last fight. Yes, big credit to both fighters for this comeback fight.”

That bad day saw Colbert, ex interim super feather titlist, hit the deck for the first time as a pro. The decision was wide, and right.

And what of the style clash this evening?

“Jose looks like a heavy handed puncher, puts pressure on. But if Chris is on his game he will beat Valenzuela,” trainer Sosa continued. “Valenzuela has to deal with the speed, the foot work, the jerky motion with fakes and most important the boxing IQ.”