Felix Verdejo was once thought to be the heir apparent to Miguel Cotto as Puerto Rico’s brightest star. He certainly shined on Thursday night.
Verdejo needed less than a full round to blow away capable Will Madera inside the MGM Grand bubble in Las Vegas, thereby demonstrating that he might yet realize his potential and threaten the best 135-pounders.
“I took my time,” Verdejo said through a translator. “I came out here and settled. I wanted to measure what he came out with, how hard he hit. Once I figured that out I let my hands go … and the knockout came.”
Verdejo (27-1, 17 KOs) was one of the hottest prospects in boxing in the mid-2010s, having fought in the 2012 Olympics and started his career with a string of impressive victories. And then he stalled.
The San Juan product suffered head trauma in a motorcycle accident in August 2016, which cost him a a possible shot at then-lightweight titleholder Terry Flanagan’s belt. And in March 2018 he was stopped in 10 rounds by Mexican Antonio Lozada Torres, leaving his future in doubt.
It seemed at that point that he might never realize his apparent potential.
Now it appears something might’ve clicked. He hired Cuban master Ismael Salas as his trainer before his previous fight, went to work and seems to have emerged with a new lease on his career at 27 years old.
At least that’s how it looked against the previously unbeaten Madera (15-1-3, 8 KOs) on Thursday night.
The fight was competitive for 2½ minutes, as both boxers were able to land punches here and there in what was largely a feel-out round. Then, in the final 30 seconds, Verdejo landed a shot that hurt Madera, trapped him in a corner and unloaded with the ferocity of a star.
A right uppercut, followed by another right hurt him again and a left-right put him flat on his back, bending his right knee awkwardly in the process. Referee Robert Hoyle could see Madera was in no condition to continue and stopped the fight with one second remaining in the round.
That performance certainly got the attention of those who reside in the deep lightweight division, including Vasiliy Lomachenko, who knocked Verdejo out of the Olympics in the quarterfinals.
This version of Verdejo, who is ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies, might be able to give any of the top 135-pounders trouble. He was asked afterward what message he sent to his lightweight rivals.
“Stay ready because Felix Verdejo is back and ready to fight against the best,” he said. “That’s my message for everyone of them. Be ready.”
Who in particular does he want?
“The top guy at 135 is Lomachenko,” he said. “He’s the best in the division. More important, we have some unfished business. I want to get the rematch for what happened in the Olympics.”
Verdejo suddenly seems adept at taking care of unfinished business.
In preliminaries, heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson of Toledo, Ohio, stopped Hector Perez 1:45 into their scheduled four-round fight.
Anderson (5-0, 5 KOs) punctuated a flurry of hard shots with an overhand right to the side of the head that knocked Perez (7-3, 3 KOs) to his hands and knees. He was too injured to continue, prompting referee Russell Mora to stop the fight.
It was Anderson’s fourth first-round knockout.
“That was too quick!” Anderson said. “I got him out of there and implemented what I’ve been working on in the gym. I want to return as soon as possible. I leave that in the hands of my promoter, but when they give me a date, I’ll be ready.
“It doesn’t matter who they put in front of me. Any of these guys who have fought in the ‘Bubble,’ I’ll fight them.”
Featherweight prospect Martino Jules of Allentown, Penn., survived a spirited effort from Aleem Jumakhanov of Tajikistan to win an eight-round junior lightweight bout by a majority decision.
Jules (10-0, 2 KOs) did particularly well when he boxed with the less-athletic Jumakhanov (8-3-2, 4 KOs) but Jumakhanov forced his way inside on numerous occasions, which allowed him to land punches and do damage on his terms.
In the end, Jules was able to outwork Jumakhanov to win 76-76, 78-74 and 78-74.
And, in a competitive four-round lightweight bout, Kenny Davis Jr. of Reno, Nevada, defeated Eduardo Sanchez of Corcoran, Calif., by a majority decision.
Davis (3-2-1, 0 KOs) put Sanchez (2-3, 0 KOs) down with a left to the body in the final seconds of Round 3 but lost a point in Round 4 when he lost his mouthpiece a second time. The scores were 37-37, 38-36 and 38-36.
Davis was fortunate he wasn’t disqualified. He landed a hard shot when Sanchez was on one knee after the knockdown.