By Miguel Rivera
Last Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the biggest name in Puerto Rican boxing, Miguel Cotto, entered the ring and demolished Daniel Geale in four rounds to retain his WBC middleweight championship.
This coming Saturday night, the two brightest up and coming fighters of Puerto Rico, Felix Verdejo and Jose Pedraza, will see action in the most important fights of their respective careers.
Verdejo will defend the lightweight Latino crown of the World Boxing Organization (WBO) against Mexico's Ivan Najera in an HBO televised fight from New York, while Pedraza will go for his first world championship in a Showtime televised contest when he faces Andrey Klimov in Alabama for the vacant super featherweight crown of the International Boxing Federation (IBF).
Cotto gave his thoughts on the two young fighters.
"They know what to do, because although they are young they are experienced in boxing," said Cotto to El Nuevo Dia. "I understand that both teams, of Verdejo and Pedraza, they know what to do. They only have to ensure their future and wellbeing and help them in what they want."
"I'm not close to them, but from what I do see they have done a good job. Both Verdejo, and his family and (the coach) Ricky Marquez, know what to do. The boy must give everything and leave his body and soul in the gym. You just have to let some time pass and see how they're going to do."