Prospect Spotlight: Felix Verdejo
Felix Verdejo rates among the most promising and talented boxing prospects in the world today. Verdejo is 21 and looks as though he’s a combination of everything Puerto Rico has offered over the years into one package. You can’t help but see Felix Trinidad every time he smiles or think Miguel Cotto when he lands a thudding left hook. Verdejo took yet another step forward this past weekend into filling the shoes of the Puerto Rican greats who’ve come before him and it’s time to review.
Felix Verdejo headlined a UniMas card this past Saturday facing Sergio Villanueva. Villanueva came in with 26 wins, 4 defeats, and 2 draws. Half of his wins had come on knockouts and half of his losses had come from knockouts. Villanueva brought toughness and experience to the table that was lacking in Verdejo’s previous opponents to date. There’s room to criticize Villanueva as an opponent given he isn’t a world beater, nor is he a contender for any title but given Verdejo’s age and future star potential, it’s a bit unnecessary to rush things. Rather than take the Lomachenko approach, Top Rank has decided to put Verdejo on a measured pace.
What did Verdejo do? He did everything right. He came out quick and showed his full arsenal. His movement was smooth and wasn’t overly wasteful that you sometimes see with guys who move and shuffle their feet just because they can.
When Villanueva opened up his offense and tried to land some punches, Verdejo countered with precision. When Villanueva tried his hand at countering, Verdejo showed off sound fundamental skill by transitioning his offense into defense effortlessly making Villanueva hit nothing but forearms and leather.
Verdejo fought patiently and poised. He forced nothing and allowed Villanueva to walk him down. While that would be a problem for many young prospects, you could see very early on that Verdejo wanted Villanueva to walk into something big. Stepping back allowed Verdejo to not only catch Villanueva on the way in, but put a little extra power from his back leg into the punch.
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Villaneuva caught Verdejo with a nice shot and Verdejo showed a dangerous aspect of his game. Immediately after receiving the blow, Verdejo launched into his offense to give something back. You see Manny Pacquiao do this often. Once he’s hit he wants to return the favor. If Verdejo has a chin like Pacquiao, he could easily become one of the most exciting fighters in the sport.
Toward the end of the second round I began to wonder what Verdejo is going to look like when someone takes him deep and digs him with some body shots. Right now he’s just too good for these guys and no one can really test him in that way. You often see guys who are silky smooth at the beginning of a fight get stopped late when they can no longer move their feet in the later rounds of a right. It’s something to watch going forward with Verdejo given how reliant he is at times on moving and using his feet.
In the third round Verdejo switched southpaw. He had landed his lead left hook a few times and perhaps he wanted to load it up and catch Villanueva with something big, but he had an even better idea. He knew Villanueva was liable to walk in and get caught with something on the way inside. He’s done it all night. Verdejo switched southpaw so he could catch Villanueva with a harder right hook than the left he’d handled thus far in the fight. The result was a destructive shot that ended the fight.
Another highlight reel knockout for Verdejo and even more hype for the young Puerto Rican prospect. The question now is should we start crowning him the future of the sport?
There are prospects out there who appear to be a surer thing, and right now Verdejo almost looks too good. It’s as if there’s a gaping hole in his game that’s just waiting to reveal itself when it’s on the proper platform. Perhaps the flaw is hidden behind the massive amount of talent Verdejo displays in every other area. I say that because you get the feeling that there has to be some logical explanation for the skill this kid is showing so early… or maybe he’s the real deal. Maybe he’s a prodigy who can take over boxing in due time.
I remain optimistic. I think Verdejo will at worst capture a world title and at best become the pay-per-view superstar boxing will desperately need once Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather leave the sport. All Felix needs is a proper rival and the sport will be set for the next 10 years.
Invest in Verdejo. The payoff is too large not to risk something.
