By Jake Donovan
Felix Verdejo may no longer be fighting this weekend, but it doesn't mean he's abandoned his adoring public.
A pre-fight meet and greet in honor of the rising star from Puerto Rico will be held Saturday, October 31 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the exhibition hall at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida.
The event will precede live boxing action at the venue, with the main portion of the card to air live on UniMas as part of its Solo Boxeo Tecate series. Verdejo was due to top the bill versus Brazil's Josenilson dos Santos, but reaggravated an old hand injury during a recent training session and was forced to withdraw.
Refund options are still available for ticket holders whose plans changed once the unbeaten lightweight contender dropped out of the show. Such submissions have to take place by no later than noon on Thursday October 29 at the original place of purchase.
Those who still wish to attend will be comforted to know that the 22-year old will be on hand to interact with his fans.
"I felt it was important to meet with the great fans here in (the Orlando area) and supporting the remaining fighters still scheduled to appear on the event," Verdejo told BoxingScene.com.
Unbeaten featherweight Christopher Diaz and welterweight prospect Clarence Booth will see action on the show. Also appearing on the undercard, unbeaten prospects Anthony Mercado and Jeani Carlos Rivera in separate bouts, as well as resurgent super lightweight Daniel Rosario.
Verdejo (18-0, 13KOs) last fought in June, scoring two knockdowns in a lopsided 10-round decision over Ivan Najera at Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York City. The bout marked his HBO-televised debut, but also came at the price of suffering a hand injury and underdoing surgery.
Original plans called for a Halloween headliner in Kissimmee followed by a December appearance in Puerto Rico, but that scheduled was altered when Verdejo left a media workout session last Thursday with enough discomfort to decide to give his hands additional rest before returning to the ring.
The hope now is for Verdejo to get a clean bill of health in order to reschedule his bout with dos Santos for the December 11 truTV telecast in Puerto Rico.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
