The last few years for Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela were both frustrating and incredibly rewarding.

At the tail end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs) suffered back-to-back losses to Edwin De Los Santos and Chris Colbert. Seemingly at his lowest, The Ring’s No. 10 ranked junior welterweight picked himself up and successfully rebuilt his career.

A violent knockout win over Colbert closed the chapter on their rivalry. Valenzuela immediately parlayed that victory into a title-winning effort over Isaac Cruz. The 25-year-old enjoys when people refer to him as “champ” when walking into a room. But if he wants that to continue, he must get past Gary Antuanne Russell on March 1st.

The 140-pound division has its fair share of star-studded names but seldom is Valenzuela mentioned by any of them. By and large, he has every right to be angry about his exclusion but as he sat down to think about it, he believes he knows exactly why he isn’t one of the most talked about names in the division.

“I’m 5’10’ strong, fast,” explained Valenzuela during a recent Zoom interview with Premier Boxing Champions. “So they're not gonna want to talk about me.”

For now, his future is being put on hold as he focuses on the now. Russell (17-1, 17 KOs) is determined to rebound from his first career defeat against Alberto Puello. Valenzuela does believe that he’ll eventually bounce back but just not on March 1st.

There’s a golden pot at the end of the rainbow if Valenzuela is able to get the job done. Showdowns with Teofimo Lopez, Richardson Hitchins, and even Jack Catterall are all options.

Valenzuela has never been a picky guy. Simply throw him in the ring with an elite-level fighter and he’s confident that he’ll handle the rest.

“I’m a headache for anybody. Stylistically, I match up nicely with anybody.”