By Steve Kim
During the late summer as plans were being made for Felix Verdejo to face WBO lightweight belt-holder Terry Flanagan on the Manny Pacquiao-Jessie Vargas pay-per-view undercard on November 5th, the highly touted Puerto Rican prospect got into a motorcycle accident that scuttled those plans and sidelined him for the rest of 2016.
So what's in store for Verdejo moving forward?
Carl Moretti, the Vice President of Boxing Operations for Top Rank quipped to BoxingScene.com - "I just ordered his Christmas present: it's a tricycle with training wheels." On a more serious note he added that Verdejo will,"fight in the first quarter of next year."
2016 was supposed to be a breakout year for Verdejo (22-0, 15 KO's) who many believe would be the next great fighter from the island which has a deep boxing tradition. But in three outings against William Silva, Juan Jose Martinez and Jose Luis Rodriguez - he failed to impress and many observers were left wondering if he was actually regressing as a fighter.
When asked to describe his year, Moretti stated simply - "All you have to do is look at the motorcycle crash."
But as the calendar turns, there is still hope that Verdejo can fulfill his potential. And he's still in line to face Flanagan next year.
"He's still the mandatory," Moretti points out. "And I think it'll happen in the first half of the year. When and where we haven't figured out, yet."
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.
