Tony Luis' Promoter Campaigns For Felix Verdejo Bout in June

By Steve Kim

Promoter Greg Cohen believes that he has the perfect foe for the highly regarded Felix Verdejo, who is set for a busy schedule of fights in the first half of 2016. Which would be his lightweight Tony Luis, who recently defeated Samuel Amoaka on February 19th in Sloan, Iowa.

"Tony's won two fights in a row since his controversial loss overseas for the world title last April," said Cohen, referring to Luis' close defeat to Derry Mathews for the interim WBA title.  "And he's at a position right now where he needs to fight either at the world title level or right below and I think a perfect fight would be Tony against Verdejo.

"Tony's the perfect type of opponent that Verdejo needs to show he can beat to prove he's an elite level fighter. I think the action would be non-stop and quite frankly, I like Tony's chances big-time in that fight and I think it would be a perfect match-up."

Luis has a record of 21-3 (7 KO's), which includes a close loss to Ivan Redkach and a decisive victory over Karl Dargan. Verdejo, who just out-pointed William Silva this past weekend to improve to 20-0 (14 KO's), is expected to return on April 16th in Puerto Rico before returning to the Madison Square Garden in the early summer.

"I know they're coming to New York on June 11th at the Garden. I would be thrilled to make the fight for Tony and Felix Verdejo," stated Cohen.

"Again, I think it would be a very tough fight and I think the fans would definitely get their monies worth. I've spoken to Tony about it and he's more than confident."

Cohen says he has reached out to his long-time friend, Carl Moretti of Top Rank, to inquire about the possibility of this match-up.

"Let's actually put Verdejo in the ring with somebody who has a chance against him and if he's everything he's supposed to be, terrific, I'll take my hat off to Verdejo,"says Cohen.

"But you know what? He needs come through a guy like Tony Luis to prove he is everything they say he is."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.