I love it when a fighter takes care of business. That’s what Edwin Valero did on Saturday’s PPV show from Austin, TX. He had Antonio Pitalua hurt and he finished him off.

In other fights on Saturday, Librado Andrade, Vicente Escobedo and Kendall Holt scored knockdowns but couldn’t end matters. If Valero has his man going, he keeps him going until he’s gone .

Mind you, unlike the floorings mentioned above, when Pitalua went down for the first time in the second round he was in terrible trouble. His legs weren’t right, and although he nodded to ref Laurence Cole that he was OK it was plain to see that he was in a shell-shocked state. All Valero had to do was to go in and close the show, which he did, capturing the vacant WBC lightweight title with a KO win after 49 seconds of round two.

Pitalua wasn’t exactly a formidable opponent but neither was he a pushover — not on paper, anyway. I had expected a longer fight, maybe seven rounds. Once Pitalua got hurt and dropped by a short, crunching right hand from Valero’s southpaw stance, though, the fight was as good as over.

Valero’s right hand seemed more of a jab than a hook, but it was very hard and bang on target, and Pitalua was coming onto the punch, which made the impact greater.

There was nothing elegant about the way Valero finished off his man, but it was exciting to behold the fury that he unleashed on the unfortunate Colombian, punch after punch, lefts and rights in a ceaseless flow. It reminded me a bit of Joe Calzaghe’s barrage that had Peter Manfredo Jr. covering up on the ropes, with the difference that even if Valero was slapping in the frenzied attack they were heavy slaps, and Pitalua slumped under the final avalanche of punches.

Some might say that Valero is a flawed fighter because he holds his chin high, but anyone trying to land a big shot runs the risk of getting blasted in the attempt, as Pitalua found out.

Valero showed a good technique, jabbing with the right hand, being a bit careful at first but always poised to land a heavy blow at the first opportunity. His power is astonishing, and he punches quickly and accurately. He seems able to hurt opponents even if he doesn’t hit them exactly right — and if he does hit them exactly right he is likely to take them completely out of the fight.

Maybe we shouldn’t get carried away because, after all, he was meeting a 39-year-old he had been expected to knock out, but the Venezuelan is extremely exciting and he is likely to be involved in some compelling fights in the months ahead.

This “Lightweight Lightning show was highly enjoyable — one of the best PPV events in a long time for action and drama.

Julio Diaz getting knocked out in the fifth by Rolando Reyes was an upset but not a huge one in my view — Graham’s Odds were tighter than at the sportsbooks. Reyes’s win came against the run of play, as they say in Britain. Diaz had won the first four rounds on all three judges’ cards and he was cruising along nicely in the fifth when Reyes finally came out of his defensive shell to fire back. When Diaz got caught flush he was in deep trouble and Reyes didn’t let him off the hook. This was a big win for Reyes. He can be frustrating to watch as he backs off behind a high guard, but when he lets his hands go he is a dangerous fighter.

Michael Katsidis was predictably too young and strong for Jesus Chavez but the veteran local favourite was competitive early only to be overwhelmed as the Australian fighter ramped up the pressure. Bloodied from a cut on the hairline and fading fast, Chavez decided he had taken enough after seven rounds and I don’t blame him. The TV commentators seemed puzzled by the ending, but what I saw was an ageing ex-champ who had given his all and was being overrun by a high-energy aggressor who seemed to be gaining momentum. Incredibly the TV commentators thought that Chavez was winning the fight. (Katsidis was in front by scores of 70-64, 69-64 and 68-65 after seven rounds — what fight were the commentators watching?) I thought the game Aussie showed some technical improvement in the way he used the jab and slipped some punches. He also seems to have a real joy of combat, and this must have been discouraging for Chavez. There was Chavez, weary and worn down while Katsidis looked as if he was having fun — a very discouraging state of affairs for the older man.

Vicente Escobedo found himself in one of those life-and-death struggles against Carlos Hernandez, who showed that at 38 he can still be a rough handful for the younger crop of fighters. Escobedo well deserved the unanimous decision in his favour but he was rocked several times by Hernandez’s left hooks. Even though Hernandez was dropped in each of the first two rounds and suffered a cut near the bridge of the nose and a nasty bruise and swelling under the right eye he was always in the fight and I never thought he was in any real danger of being stopped. Escobedo showed character but I can’t see the Olympic representative going a lot further. He boxed well and he punched well, but probably not well enough to be able to beat the higher-calibre 135-pounders.