Arum: Verdejo a Bigger Star Than Cotto Was At This Point

by David P. Greisman, photo by Mikey Williams

Bob Arum of Top Rank had a big star in Miguel Cotto, promoting him from his earliest days as a prospect and growing him from contender into a multi-division world titleholder and a headliner who drew huge crowds at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Arum no longer has Cotto, who’s now with Roc Nation Sports, but Top Rank does have lightweight contender Felix Verdejo. And Verdejo, who is still a few months shy of his 23rd birthday and is 19-0 with 14 KOs, is already an attraction in the Puerto Rican community.

“Huge,” Arum told BoxingScene.com. “More than Cotto had at this stage of his career.”

Cotto was on the verge of fighting for a vacant world title at 140-pounds at this point of his career. By his 24th fight, Cotto was headlining at Madison Square Garden on the June night before the Puerto Rican Day parade, a tradition that Cotto would continue for many years afterward.

Arum doesn’t see Verdejo as another Cotto, though. Rather, he sees him resembling an even bigger Puerto Rican star — in terms of personality, that is.

“Verdejo looks more and acts more like Felix Trinidad, who I didn’t handle, who was more of a people person than Miguel was. A big smile, loves to be around people,” Arum said. “Cotto is much more introverted. That’s not saying anything bad about him. That was just the case.”

Arum wants to keep Verdejo active and is aiming to have him fight five times in 2016. His bout against William Silva on HBO will be his first of the year. Another bout, in April, will take place in Puerto Rico, following the strategy Top Rank took of bringing Cotto between the island and New York City, while still mixing in other venues.

Verdejo’s fought in Orlando a few times as well, where there’s a big Puerto Rican population. His first appearance in that city was underneath Cotto’s victory over Delvin Rodriguez in 2013.

“People are already talking about him. I think he’s an extraordinary talent, and he has great marketability,” Arum said. “I think he is one of the guys that will be in the next wave of superstars in boxing.”

After the fight in Puerto Rico will be a June 11 date back at Madison Square Garden — his third straight year fighting the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, and the first time as a headliner. In 2014 he was underneath Cotto’s win over Sergio Martinez, and last year he was the unofficial headliner underneath the actual main event of Nicholas Walters vs. Miguel Marriaga.

“After the fight, we’ll go to sleep and be ready to be one of the grand marshals in the Puerto Rican Day Parade,” Arum said. “That’s what we did with Cotto, and it worked very well.”

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