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12-28-2014, 01:14 PM
Prospect of the year: Felix Verdejo
Originally Published: December 24, 2014
By Dan Rafael| ESPN.com
For a kid who says he was supposed to be a baseball player, 21-year-old lightweight sensation Felix Verdejo is one helluva boxer.
When Verdejo, viewed by many as the next great fighter from the boxing-mad island of Puerto Rico, was 9 years old, he loved baseball, much like many of the kids he grew up with. One day, under the watchful eye of close family friend Angel Rivera, whom Verdejo considers an uncle, he was practicing with best friend Jean Rivera, Angel's son.
When practice turned a bit chippy and Jean began throwing rocks at Verdejo, things got a little out of hand and they started fighting. Angel broke the boys up, telling them that if they wanted to fight for real, they should put on boxing gloves, and they did.
Rafael's prospects of the year 2014: Felix Verdejo
2013: Vasyl Lomachenko
2012: David Price
2011: Gary Russell Jr.
2010: Canelo Alvarez
2009: Daniel Jacobs
2008: Victor Ortiz
2007: Amir Khan
2006: Andre Berto
2005: Joel Julio
2004: Samuel Peter
2003: Jermain Taylor
2002: Miguel Cotto
2001: Francisco Bojado
2000: Julio Diaz
"That was my first fight," Verdejo said through translator Gardy Lopez of Top Rank, Verdejo's promoter.
Angel thought Verdejo showed promise and took him to a nearby gym, where he met trainer Ricky Marquez. That was the end of Verdejo's baseball path. But a dozen years later, Marquez still trains (and manages) Verdejo, who has emerged as a possible future star in boxing.
"I loved boxing from the first day I tried it," Verdejo said. "I was always getting into fights in the streets, so I used boxing for discipline instead of fighting in the streets.
"As a professional boxer, I want to be a world champion. I want to unite my country and bring happiness to my people."
Verdejo went 106-17 as an amateur and represented Puerto Rico in the 2012 Olympics, after which he signed with Top Rank and came into the pro ranks with a lot of hype. So far, Verdejo (16-0, 12 KOs), the 2014 ESPN.com prospect so the year, has lived up to all of it.
"We think he has the kind of talent to win world titles in multiple divisions -- 135, 140, 147 when it's all said and done," said Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti. "A lot has to happen but I think the talent is there. He works as hard as anybody. He cares about always being in shape, how he performs. He loves the fans, he loves his island and it's important to him to be respectful of everyone."
He has shown consistent improvement in the ring, including going 7-0 with 6 knockouts (one of which was a huge third-round KO of the year candidate against Sergio Villanueva in October) in 2014, a fan-friendly style and is already a gate attraction, having drawn crowds for fights in Puerto Rico, New York, Philadelphia and Orlando, Fla. Many believe Verdejo is the heir apparent to recent Puerto Rican stars Felix "Tito" Trinidad and Miguel Cotto and will eventually be a pay-per-view headliner.
http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2014/0607/box_r_verdejo-valenzuela_mb_300x200.jpg (http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2014/0607/box_r_verdejo-valenzuela_mb_600x400.jpg)Chris Farina/Top RankLightweight Felix Verdejo, left, won all his seven fights in 2014, six of them by stoppage.
Those are big names to be compared to, but Verdejo said he does not feel any pressure to live up to their great legacies. Trinidad won titles in three weight classes and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in June. Cotto, a lock Hall of Famer, is the reigning middleweight champion and the first Puerto Rican to win world titles in four weight classes.
"It's an honor for me to be compared to those big stars from my island," said Verdejo, who has appeared on Cotto undercards. "They did their job. I will do mine and keep developing. Tito is my friend. Every time he sees me he is giving me advice and I appreciate it. He tells me to keep training hard and that after I accomplish what I want in boxing there is time for everything else.
"I respect Miguel a lot. He's a good guy but my relationship with Cotto is not the same as with Tito. Cotto is more focused on his career so we haven't had a chance to talk a lot."
Verdejo has a close relationship with Trinidad, whom he has known since his amateur days, meeting because Verdejo's mother worked with Trinidad's cousin. Like Trinidad, Verdejo has a million-dollar smile, an outgoing personality and loves to be around his fans.
"I enjoy what I am doing and I enjoy being with the fans. It's the way I have always been," Verdejo said. "Even now everywhere Tito goes people are all over him. I would love that to happen to me. I will keep working hard and as long as I keep doing what I am doing it will come little by little and the love from the fans will keep growing."
Despite the intense boxing rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico, Verdejo also counts himself as a big Juan Manuel Marquez fan.
"Tito is my favorite boxer. I grew up watching him but one of my others is Marquez," Verdejo said. "I admire everything he has done."
Verdejo is expected to make his 2015 debut in February headlining a UniMas-televised card, but Moretti said he'll likely be on HBO before the end of the year. Eventually, he is expected to headline big cards at Madison Square Garden on Puerto Rican parade weekend in June, a date on which Cotto had many of his biggest fights. But Top Rank does not want to rush Verdejo.
"He's very easy to market and the fans already give him a big reception wherever he goes. But we want him to mature physically. He's still only 21. There is no rush on anyone's part," Moretti said. "We just want him to progress as a fighter. We want him to take his time and let him get experience. It might take 25 fights. It's a costly venture but that's the way you should do it if you can.
"This is a marathon with him, not a sprint, and he and his team are with us on this. We are not slow in his development but we are not rushing him. That said, he is ready for the next step, there's no question. I think he's ready for some better guys."
Verdejo said his career is moving just the way he hoped it would.
"I like the pace my career is going," he said. "I'm very happy with the way things are going. I know this is the stage of his career where I am learning and developing and I understand that. I know there are a lot of people with a lot of expectations but that motivates me to train harder and reach my goals and develop. I don't feel the pressure, but I'm up for the challenge."
Originally Published: December 24, 2014
By Dan Rafael| ESPN.com
For a kid who says he was supposed to be a baseball player, 21-year-old lightweight sensation Felix Verdejo is one helluva boxer.
When Verdejo, viewed by many as the next great fighter from the boxing-mad island of Puerto Rico, was 9 years old, he loved baseball, much like many of the kids he grew up with. One day, under the watchful eye of close family friend Angel Rivera, whom Verdejo considers an uncle, he was practicing with best friend Jean Rivera, Angel's son.
When practice turned a bit chippy and Jean began throwing rocks at Verdejo, things got a little out of hand and they started fighting. Angel broke the boys up, telling them that if they wanted to fight for real, they should put on boxing gloves, and they did.
Rafael's prospects of the year 2014: Felix Verdejo
2013: Vasyl Lomachenko
2012: David Price
2011: Gary Russell Jr.
2010: Canelo Alvarez
2009: Daniel Jacobs
2008: Victor Ortiz
2007: Amir Khan
2006: Andre Berto
2005: Joel Julio
2004: Samuel Peter
2003: Jermain Taylor
2002: Miguel Cotto
2001: Francisco Bojado
2000: Julio Diaz
"That was my first fight," Verdejo said through translator Gardy Lopez of Top Rank, Verdejo's promoter.
Angel thought Verdejo showed promise and took him to a nearby gym, where he met trainer Ricky Marquez. That was the end of Verdejo's baseball path. But a dozen years later, Marquez still trains (and manages) Verdejo, who has emerged as a possible future star in boxing.
"I loved boxing from the first day I tried it," Verdejo said. "I was always getting into fights in the streets, so I used boxing for discipline instead of fighting in the streets.
"As a professional boxer, I want to be a world champion. I want to unite my country and bring happiness to my people."
Verdejo went 106-17 as an amateur and represented Puerto Rico in the 2012 Olympics, after which he signed with Top Rank and came into the pro ranks with a lot of hype. So far, Verdejo (16-0, 12 KOs), the 2014 ESPN.com prospect so the year, has lived up to all of it.
"We think he has the kind of talent to win world titles in multiple divisions -- 135, 140, 147 when it's all said and done," said Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti. "A lot has to happen but I think the talent is there. He works as hard as anybody. He cares about always being in shape, how he performs. He loves the fans, he loves his island and it's important to him to be respectful of everyone."
He has shown consistent improvement in the ring, including going 7-0 with 6 knockouts (one of which was a huge third-round KO of the year candidate against Sergio Villanueva in October) in 2014, a fan-friendly style and is already a gate attraction, having drawn crowds for fights in Puerto Rico, New York, Philadelphia and Orlando, Fla. Many believe Verdejo is the heir apparent to recent Puerto Rican stars Felix "Tito" Trinidad and Miguel Cotto and will eventually be a pay-per-view headliner.
http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2014/0607/box_r_verdejo-valenzuela_mb_300x200.jpg (http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2014/0607/box_r_verdejo-valenzuela_mb_600x400.jpg)Chris Farina/Top RankLightweight Felix Verdejo, left, won all his seven fights in 2014, six of them by stoppage.
Those are big names to be compared to, but Verdejo said he does not feel any pressure to live up to their great legacies. Trinidad won titles in three weight classes and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in June. Cotto, a lock Hall of Famer, is the reigning middleweight champion and the first Puerto Rican to win world titles in four weight classes.
"It's an honor for me to be compared to those big stars from my island," said Verdejo, who has appeared on Cotto undercards. "They did their job. I will do mine and keep developing. Tito is my friend. Every time he sees me he is giving me advice and I appreciate it. He tells me to keep training hard and that after I accomplish what I want in boxing there is time for everything else.
"I respect Miguel a lot. He's a good guy but my relationship with Cotto is not the same as with Tito. Cotto is more focused on his career so we haven't had a chance to talk a lot."
Verdejo has a close relationship with Trinidad, whom he has known since his amateur days, meeting because Verdejo's mother worked with Trinidad's cousin. Like Trinidad, Verdejo has a million-dollar smile, an outgoing personality and loves to be around his fans.
"I enjoy what I am doing and I enjoy being with the fans. It's the way I have always been," Verdejo said. "Even now everywhere Tito goes people are all over him. I would love that to happen to me. I will keep working hard and as long as I keep doing what I am doing it will come little by little and the love from the fans will keep growing."
Despite the intense boxing rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico, Verdejo also counts himself as a big Juan Manuel Marquez fan.
"Tito is my favorite boxer. I grew up watching him but one of my others is Marquez," Verdejo said. "I admire everything he has done."
Verdejo is expected to make his 2015 debut in February headlining a UniMas-televised card, but Moretti said he'll likely be on HBO before the end of the year. Eventually, he is expected to headline big cards at Madison Square Garden on Puerto Rican parade weekend in June, a date on which Cotto had many of his biggest fights. But Top Rank does not want to rush Verdejo.
"He's very easy to market and the fans already give him a big reception wherever he goes. But we want him to mature physically. He's still only 21. There is no rush on anyone's part," Moretti said. "We just want him to progress as a fighter. We want him to take his time and let him get experience. It might take 25 fights. It's a costly venture but that's the way you should do it if you can.
"This is a marathon with him, not a sprint, and he and his team are with us on this. We are not slow in his development but we are not rushing him. That said, he is ready for the next step, there's no question. I think he's ready for some better guys."
Verdejo said his career is moving just the way he hoped it would.
"I like the pace my career is going," he said. "I'm very happy with the way things are going. I know this is the stage of his career where I am learning and developing and I understand that. I know there are a lot of people with a lot of expectations but that motivates me to train harder and reach my goals and develop. I don't feel the pressure, but I'm up for the challenge."