By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Felix Verdejo of Puerto Rico will be defending his WBO Latino Lightweight Championship against Juan Jose Martinez of Mexico this Saturday, June 11th at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The 10-round bout can be seen in Canada and the U.S. live on HBO while fans in the UK can catch all of the action on BoxNation. Verdejo last fought in April when he beat Jose Luis Rodriguez by a 10-round unanimous decision. Martinez was last in the ring in March and beat Emanuel Lopez by a 10-round unanimous decision.
The 23-year-old Verdejo enters the bout with a perfect record of 21-0 along with along with 14 Kos. He’s stopped eight of his last 12 foes, but has gone the distance in three of his last four outings. He’ll be defending his title for the fifth time this Saturday. He won his crown by stopping Marco Lopez in the fifth round back in April of 2014 and then dealt former undefeated contender Ivan Najera a decision loss during his first title defence. Verdejo then fought again in December and stopped Josenilson Dos Santos inside two rounds with a second-round knockout. He beat Willian Silva by decision in February and then beat Rodriguez.
Verdejo turned pro back in 2012 and has fought 87 rounds since then, but he hasn’t faced any legitimate top-10 boxers as of yet with his toughest opponents being Lopez along with Oscar Bravo and Sergio Reyes. He has good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 67 per cent, but hasn’t stopped anybody lately. Verdejo hasn’t stepped up in class as of yet and won’t really be doing so on Saturday either. He’s a good young prospect, but will need to face a stiffer test sometime soon if he hopes to one day earn a world title shot.
Verdejo likes to stay active though and fights every few months, which is a fine idea for a young boxer. His power and skills have seen most of his fights end early and that’s basically the reason he hasn’t got many rounds under his belt up to now. He has a lot of 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 of Ukraine.
The 30-year-old Martinez enters this bout with a record of 25-2 along with 17 Kos. He’s gone 9-1 in his last 10 outings, but hasn’t faced any top-level opponents either. He gives away the height and reach advantage as he’s only 5-foot-6 with a wingspan of 69 inches. He’s boxed 122 rounds since turning pro in 2010 and has a current knockout ratio of 63 per cent, so he has decent power. His toughest opponent to date is Rey Bautista, who beat him by seven-round technical majority decision back in 2014. He was also stopped in the first round by Daniel Santillo in his second pro bout in 2010.
Prediction…
Verdejo will be facing an opponent with good power, but inferior boxing skills. Neither boxer is really going to have the crowd on the edge of its seats, but Verdejo might push for a stoppage since he’s been taken the distance in his last two fights. Martinez will do his best, but Verdejo should take a comfortable decision or score a late stoppage.
