Felix Verdejo knows what idle means. It’s a euphemism, another way of saying you’re going nowhere. Busy is what Verdejo hopes to be. Needs to be.
Verdejo wants another fight within the next few months.
“I would say in March or April or June,’’ Verdejo told El Nuevo Dia, a Puerto Rican newspaper, about his plans after a unanimous decision over Mexican Manuel Rey Rojas on Jan. 18 in Verona, N.Y.
The fight was Verdejo’s first in nine months. For a lightweight with a prospect’s future after the 2016 Olympics, that’s long enough to be forgotten. But the Puerto Rican lightweight is fighting to remind everybody that he’s still around, still trying to fight his way into the 135-pound division’s championship mix.
“Gradually everything will fall into place, step by step,” said Verdejo (26-1, 16 KOs), who plans to resume training in Las Vegas as soon as possible.
The 26-year-old Verdejo is 3-0 since his lone loss, a stunning stoppage to Antonio Torres in March 2017 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. It was a defeat that shook Verdejo’s confidence and left doubt about his future.
“I will continue working,’’ he said. “There are things to improve.’’
He said his 10-round decision over Rojas was average. A C grade, he said. But he felt better about his performance after looking at the video.
‘’I didn’t look as bad as I thought,’’ said Verdejo, who still believes he needed to show more aggressiveness complemented by combinations and lateral movement.