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by: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Suspended WBC lightweight champion Edwin Valero was detained on suspicion of killing his wife on Sunday, police said.

Venezuelan Federal Police Chief Wilmer Flores said Valero was arrested after police found the body of his wife in a hotel in the city of Valencia.

Flores said Valero left the hotel room around dawn on Sunday and allegedly told the hotel's security personnel that he had killed Viera.

Valero's lawyer, Milda Mora, did not immediately answer telephone calls seeking comment.

The 28-year-old boxer has been in trouble with the law before.

Last month, Valero was brought up on charges of harassing his wife and threatening medical personnel who treated her at a hospital in the western city of Merida.

Police arrested the Valero following an argument with a doctor and nurse at the hospital, where his wife was being treated for a series of injuries, including a punctured lung and broken ribs.

Valero entered a Venezuelan rehabilitation center under on March 28 for treatment of drug and alcohol addiction, Mora said at the time. The boxer's attorney said Viera was injured when she fell down a flight of stairs at the couple's home while checking a water tank located on the roof.

Valero, with a record of 27-0 as a boxer, was suspended as WBC lightweight champion in February.