Zuffa Boxing
Edwin De Los Santos | ‘La Grenada’ Is Ready To Explode | Zuffa Boxing 08
Former Lightweight World Title Challenger Arrives In Zuffa Boxing Ready To Make An Instant Statement To The Rest Of The 135-Pound Division
The Zuffa Boxing lightweight division has an explosive new contender in the mix, and he’s planning on making a statement on his promotional debut.
Former world title challenger Edwin De Los Santos has signed with Zuffa Boxing, and the fighter known as “Le Grenada” (“The Grenade”) has been impressed with what he’s witnessed from the organization so far.
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“I've enjoyed everything that's gone on (in Zuffa Boxing) so far. It's been very impressive,” he said via interpreter.
“They keep manifesting and growing the way that they are. Zuffa is going to continue being a name in boxing.”
Now De Los Santos (17-2, 15 KOs) is part of Zuffa Boxing, and his first assignment will reunite him with a man he knows very well. Back in September of 2022, De Los Santos stepped in as a late replacement to take on Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela, who at the time was undefeated at 12-0, and highly favored to get the victory. But, in a wild fight that saw both men dropped, De Los Santos ran out the winner via third-round knockout.
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Since that fight, De Los Santos went on to challenge Shakur Stevenson for world lightweight gold, while Valenzuela (15-3, 9 KOs) has worked his way back into winning form and already has a victory to his name under the Zuffa Boxing banner. Now the pair will resume hostilities at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, where they’ll do battle in the main event of Zuffa Boxing 08.
It’s a fight that De Los Santos was more than happy to take, though he admitted he did question why the Zuffa Boxing matchmakers wanted to see the same matchup again.
“When I got the phone call, the one question that I asked was, ‘Why are you having me fight a fighter that I've already beaten that has evaded me four times already?’” he recalled.
“But nonetheless, if they want that fight, I'm here to give it to them, and I'm here to win.”
That first fight saw De Los Santos hit the canvas in the second round before storming back to earn the third-round stoppage. That knockdown remains the only time the Dominican has been dropped in a fight, and he said there was a clear reason why it happened.
“It was basically just overconfidence,” he admitted.
“That's probably the only reason why they're having me rematch against him. As you can see, I was winning the entire fight until that one minor mishap, but basically that's all it really was.”
While De Los Santos is confident that the end result will be very similar, the big difference ahead of the rematch will be in the level of preparation both men have for each other.
Edwin De Los Santos Fight Week Interview | Zuffa Boxing 08
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Edwin De Los Santos Fight Week Interview | Zuffa Boxing 08
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For the first fight, Valenzuela was coming off a full camp, albeit for a different opponent, but De Los Santos had to quickly cobble together a one-week camp to ensure he was in shape to step in. This time around, he’s fully trained and 100 percent prepared.
“Yeah (it’s) very, very vastly different,” he said.
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“I only had one week of training, really focusing on just making weight, you know? Now that we have a full three months of training, this time it's completely different.”
Having fought for lightweight gold once before, De Los Santos knows all about the level he needs to achieve to become a world champion, and he said that he’s still focused on achieving his dream.
“I feel really good, I haven't given up yet!” he said.
“I’ll just keep knocking on doors until I get that opportunity, and it's coming.”
Victory over Valenzuela would be the perfect springboard to propel him towards that goal, and he intends on making a big statement to the rest of the 135-pound division when he makes his Zuffa Boxing debut at The Cosmopolitan on Sunday night.
“To all my fans, just stay ready to watch me fight (and) to watch a spectacular show,” he said.
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“And to all my opponents, you should either go down a division, or go up a division, because ‘La Grenada’ has arrived.”
