By Ian S Palmer
Felix Verdejo of Puerto Rico will be taking on the unbeaten Will Madera of Albany, New York in a 10-round lightweight tilt in Las Vegas this Thursday, July 14th. Verdejo last fought in January when he beat Manuel Rojas by a 10-round unanimous decision. Madera’s last action resulted in a second-round stoppage of Edgar Ramirez, also in January. Thursday’s fight can be seen live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes in America and on TSN in Canada.
The 27-year-old Verdejo enters the bout with a record of 26-1 with 16 Kos. He’s a former WBO Latino Lightweight Champion who won the vacant crown by stopping Marco Lopez in the fifth round back in April of 2014 and then dealt former undefeated contender Ivan Najera a 10-round decision loss during his first title defence. Verdejo then stopped Josenilson Dos Santos inside two rounds in December of 2015.
He’s also beaten Willian Silva and Jose Luis Rodriguez by unanimous decisions but was then stopped in the 10th round in 2018 by Antonio Lozada Torres to derail his career. Since then he’s beaten Rojas and Bryan Vazquez by decisions and stopped Yardley Cruz in the second round. Verdejo turned pro in 2012 and has fought 134 rounds since then. He was once a top prospect but still hasn’t faced any legitimate top-10 boxers as of yet.
Verdejo has decent power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 59.3 per cent. But he still needs to step up in class if he hopes to become a legitimate contender and one day earn a world title shot. Right now he needs to stay active and steadily take on stiffer opponents. He was supposed to take on WBO Lightweight Champion Terry Flanagan of England a couple of years ago but had to pull out due to injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident.
Verdejo’s power and skills saw most of his earlier career fights end pretty early but that hasn’t been the case lately. He possesses speed and mobility with an excellent uppercut and is also adept defensively. He stands 5-feet-9-inches tall and has a reach of 71.5 inches. Verdejo fought in the 2012 Olympics in London, England and was beaten by Vasyl Lomachenko, who just may be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
Madera is a 29-year-old with a near-perfect record of 15-0-3 with 8 Kos. He’s boxed just 83 rounds since making his pro debut in 2013 after boxing as an amateur. He has average power in his punches with a current knockout ratio of 44.4 per cent. His height and reach are both unlisted so we don’t really know how he stacks up against Verdejo physically. Madera fought to a draw for the WBC International Silver Lightweight Title against Christian Uruzquieta in Canada in June, 2019.
His other two draws came in consecutive fights with Wesley Ferrer over six rounds in December, 2017 and with Alberto Bautista over six rounds in March, 2018. He hasn’t taken on any name contenders as of yet and will be taking a step up in class against Verdejo. Madera’s biggest wins have been against the likes of Norbert Gluck, Abraham Gomez, Gabriel Duluc, Thomas Mattice, Daulis Prescott and Omar Valenzuela.
Prediction…
Madera will give it a good shot but this is meant to be a tune-up fight of sorts for Verdejo as he needs to get some confidence back as he hopes to climb the rankings. If he loses this fight Verdejo’s career will be in a bit of trouble but I don’t think that will be the case. Look for Verdejo to take the W.
