By Steve Kim

On the night of June 13th at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Felix Verdejo improved to 18-0 (13 KO's) by out-pointing the rugged Ivan Najera over ten rounds in what was his HBO debut. But it turns out he came into that fight with a left hand that was having some issues and on June 24th he underwent a procedure on it at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles.

According to Carl Moretti, V.P. of Boxing Operations for Top Rank, which promotes Verdejo - "He can't start hitting and sparring till the last week of September or first week of October. He can do all the conditioning, all that kind of training now. So he'll probably return late October, early November."

As for where his next fight will be, an appearance on UniMas back in Puerto Rico seems to make the most sense but Moretti points out,"It depends on the time frame on when he's coming back."

Time is on Verdejo's side given that he's still just 22 years old. He is considered by many observers as the next great fighter from the island, following in the lineage of Felix Trinidad and Miguel Cotto.

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com