Читать книгу Berserk. The Shocking Life and Death of Edwin Valero онлайн

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“He obviously enjoyed being in the gym,” Harty said. “I don't know how a person is able to summon punch after punch with such aggression like he did, though. Whatever was driving him, it was always right there below the surface for him to tap into.”

Hernandez invited members of the local media to watch Valero spar. Among the first to see him was Doug Fischer of Maxboxing.com. In a 2004 column for ESPN.com, Fischer described what had seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime thrill.

“Only two fighters that I have witnessed train in the past ten years come close to Valero's athletic perfection, Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr.—and I'm talking about these two multi-champs when they were at their physical peaks,” Fischer wrote. “Valero's aggression, bursting speed, brute strength, and intensity reminded me of the lightweight version of Mosley. His poise, technique, balance, and craftiness reminded me of the ‘97–’99 version of Mayweather.”

Though Valero and Jennifer had an apartment, he spent much of his time in tiny quarters he shared with Hernandez, Anchondo, and Daniel Ponce de Leon, a strong Mexican southpaw who would soon become quite successful. Fischer recalled the volatile natures of Valero and his stablemates, especially with the addition of alcohol. There had been a particularly nasty brawl between Valero and de Leon in a Dallas hotel lobby. “There were chairs turned over and blood everywhere,” Fischer said. “These three, they had a particular dysfunction with alcohol. When they got drunk, they got crazy.” Valero was already stubborn with a temper. When alcohol was introduced, Fischer reckoned, Valero became “a maniac.”