Joseph Valtellini talks about his win over Alex Berrios and his future plans

Joseph Valtellini scored one of the most important victories of his career in dominating fashion on September 23rd under the Friday Night Fights banner. Valtellini defeated Florida's Alex Berrios via (T)KO after Berrios was unable to answer the bell at the end of the second round. Muay Thai Authority recently caught up with Valtellini to speak about the win against Berrios as well as his future plans.

MTA: You recently defeated Alex Berrios and once again it was a dominant performance. Did you feel you would be able to put him away so easily?

Joseph: I knew going into this bout that Alex was a tough and skilled opponent, and he was coming off a big win against Rigel Balsimico. I trained really hard for this match and wanted to move up in the rankings and show that I deserve to be amongst the top fighters in North America. A got a bad sinus infection the week of the fight and wasn’t even sure if I was able to fight. But I didn’t want to disappoint the fans, supporters and Friday Night Fights and my Team. But I was still well prepared and confident that my hand would be raised by KO/TKO. I felt early on in the first round that the fight would end early, but I was waiting for the right opportunity.

MTA: You used your leg kicks to break him down and at the end of the second round he couldn't answer the bell, were you surprised he didn't answer the bell?

Joseph: I wasn’t really surprised that he didn’t come out for the third round. I knew the leg kicks were starting to wear him down. I was hoping for another round to showcase a little more, however I am still happy with the outcome.

MTA: You are starting to establish yourself as a wrecking machine, what makes you so effective in the ring? Finishing fights isn't something easy to accomplish, yet you have had no trouble doing it.

Joseph: I really have to credit my coach Kru Paul Minhas, my team at Team Ultimate, and my strength and conditioning coach Costa Kladianos from Tempus Performance. We train all year round, constantly improving my technique and timing and getting strong and explosive. Working full time as a physical education teacher, and preparing for a fight, is a real challenge as there never seems to be enough time in a day. So it’s very important that my training is very structured and every minute is used properly. I believe in training hard and most importantly smart. We do as a team focus on preparing our technique and strategy to finish our opponents. I feel the beauty in martial arts is being able to finish. Your technique, timing, power and strategy all need to work together at the right moment. I like to put that challenge on myself every time I step into the ring.

MTA: Are you looking to get back into action immediately after this fight or does some time off sound good to you?

Joseph: I am planning to get in 1 more bout before the end of the year. It looks like I will be competing in December for Friday Night Fights. I was back in training the day I got home. I am excited and motivated to start preparing for this bout.

MTA: We spoke with your promotional company, Friday Night Fights Muay Thai President, Justin Blair and he mentioned that he’d like to see you fight someone from the West Coast, As far as future opponents is there anyone in particular you would like to face?

Joseph: I really don’t have anyone in particular. However, I think it would be a great opportunity to compete against someone from the west coast. It will allow both of us to get some recognition on the other side. But in the end, I want to continually improve and challenge myself as a martial artist and athlete.

Thanks So much Nathan for this interview, It's an honor to have the opportunity to share a bit about myself with the fans that support muay Thai & kickboxing. Also a big thanks to Justin Blair and his amazing Team at Friday Night Fights for giving me the opportunity to compete against such notable opponents.