By Ryan Burton, photos by Pete Amador
As previously reported on BoxingScene.com, Jose Luis Rodriguez (17-6-1) came in on late notice to face blue chip lightweight prospect Felix Verdejo (20-0) on April 16th at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Verdejo was originally scheduled to face Daniel Evangelista who pulled out of the fight with an injury last week. The fight will headline an UniMas Solo Boxeo card. Featherweight prospect Christopher Diaz (15-0) will face an opponent to be determined in the co-feature bout.
Assuming Verdejo defeats Rodriguez and escapes the fight injury free, he is scheduled to return to the ring on June 11th at Madison Square Garden in New York in a HBO telecast that will possibly be against Jose Felix Jr. (33-1-1) of Mexico.
The fight will be Verdejo's second HBO appearance on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. Verdejo's promoter Top Rank previously used the June dates to help build the career of Puerto Rican superstar Miguel Cotto.
Top Rank is trying to finalize a deal for former featherweight champions Vasyl Lomachenko and Nicholas Walters to face each other in a bout at 130 pounds to serve as the main event. WBO super featherweight champion Rocky Martinez has also been mentioned as a possible opponent for Lomachenko who currently holds the WBO featherweight title if an agreement with Walters cannot be reached.
FULL WEIGHTS
• Félix 'El Diamante' Verdejo 134 lbs - vs. - José Luis Rodríguez 134 lbs
• Christopher 'Pitufo' Díaz 125 lbs - vs. - Ray Ximenez 125 lbs
• Jean Carlos Rivera 124 lbs - vs. - Harold Reyes 124lbs
• Jean 'Lobo' Torres 136 lbs - vs. - Mike Erosa 135 lbs
• Luis 'El Diamante Negro' Sánchez 149 lbs - vs. - Joseph Roman
• Hector Fernandez 132 lbs - vs. - Steven Ortiz 134 lbs
• Luis Lebron 128 lbs - vs. - Eliezer Agosto 126 lbs
• Fernando Orona 126 lbs - vs. - Pedro Marquez 125 lbs
• Orlando Fernandez 143 lbs - vs. - Roberto Cruz 140 lbs
• Eduardo Morales 134 lbs - vs. - Jonathan Irrizarry 135 lbs
