Daniel De Leon

They call him "Pollo," Spanish for chicken, not because of his mellow mien, but because of that day long ago when all he had to wear was a bright yellow T-shirt -- he looked like a giant chick -- and he was teased mercilessly by the neighborhood kids. Juan Valenzuela, who grew up in Culiacan, Mexico, has been fighting for respect ever since.

After he pulled himself off the canvas in defeat, Reynaldo Lopez made a point of saying he wasn't entirely impressed with Daniel Ponce De Leon's boxing ability. In becoming Ponce De Leon's 30th knockout victim in 34 fights, Lopez became the latest to realize the flaw in his critique. Ponce De Leon's left hand is a devastating weapon that can fatigue skilled former title-fight contenders like Lopez and finish them off too.

Attention, Miguel Cotto: A chicken is on your tail. Ricardo "Pollo" Valenzuela, whose nickname is Spanish for chicken, clinched his spot as a challenger for the unbeaten Cotto's World Boxing Council International super-lightweight belt with a devastating second-round knockout of Guillermo Valdes on Friday night at the Grand Olympic Auditorium. "Everybody talks about what a great fighter [Cotto] is," said Valenzuela, who improved to 20-6 with nine knockouts.

Whatever legal baggage Victor Ortiz is dealing with, he dropped it off before walking into the MGM Grand ring Saturday. The 21-year-old Oxnard fighter battered New York's Jeffrey Resto, knocking him down twice in the first round and once in the second before referee Russell Mora stopped the fight 1 minute 19 seconds into the round.

LAS VEGAS - On a big fight night in the biggest fight city, Mexican star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will get a portion of the spotlight Saturday when he takes on newcomer Josesito Lopez of Riverside. They will fight for a title belt at 154 pounds in the main event at the MGM Grand Garden. A mile or so down the road, at Thomas & Mack Center, another major fight card will take place and be headlined by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. against Sergio Martinez, fighting for a middleweight title belt.

Riverside's Josesito Lopez will fight Mexico's star super-welterweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez Sept. 15 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, promoter Richard Schaefer announced Wednesday. Lopez is the fourth scheduled opponent for Alvarez (40-0-1, 29 knockouts) in a World Boxing Council title bout that has shrunk from pay-per-view status to being broadcast by cable network Showtime. Lopez will be a greatly undersized opponent matched against the 154-pound champion. "I can't let this opportunity pass me by," Lopez said a telephone interview.

With a week until Christmas, churches throughout the Southland are preparing for one of the two most sacred days on the Christian calendar. Tomorrow is the fourth Sunday of Advent, in which Western churches of various denominations light the fourth and last Advent candle in symbolic preparation for the birth of Jesus. A lesser-known aspect of Advent is its strong association with the Christian expectation of the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time.

Reporting from Las Vegas -- The 16 men on Saturday's eight-bout undercard to Mayweather-Mosley were fighting for a lot less in both purse and prestige. But they didn't take their job any less seriously. The most compelling of the preliminary matchups was the last one, a renewal of boxing's longstanding Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry and a slugfest in which neither Saul Alvarez of Guadalajara nor Jose Miguel Cotto, a Puerto Rican Olympian and the elder brother of former world champion Miguel Cotto, gave an inch.

Former welterweight boxing champion Victor Ortiz has a June 23 main event at Staples Center scheduled against Riverside's scrappy Josesito Lopez, but should Ortiz win as expected he has landed a Sept. 15 pay-per-view date against Mexico's star fighter Saul "Canelo" Alvarez at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Golden Boy Promotions Chief Executive Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoyaannounced Alvarez-Ortiz on Tuesday, titling the third version of the event as "Knockout Kings," and with a nod to Saturday's disputed Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight, Schaefer said, "Judges, leave your scorecards at home.

When the radio ratings came out in January, recalls Mary Guthrie, general manager for the Radio Nueva Vida Network, a call came in from a puzzled Arbitron official who asked: "Who are you guys?" Good question. Radio Nueva Vida's newest Spanish-language station, KLTX-AM (1390), had jumped into 35th place (of 52 stations) in Los Angeles during its first three months of broadcasting, according to Arbitron. During the latest ratings period, the station slipped to 42nd place.