By Victor Salazar
New York - Felix Verdejo’s exciting decision victory over tough Ivan Najera is exactly what his handlers wanted from the young Puerto Rican lightweight star. They wanted him to look good but also wanted him to get experience in a longer ten round fight.
“He needed rounds,” said Top Rank President Todd duBoef told BoxingScene.com “He needed to get off the stool in round 8, round 9, and round 10 because he needs that experience and know how to reach when he can’t just knock the guy out. I’m so glad Najera was there and didn’t go away because he needed it for experience.”
Verdejo (18-0, 13KO's) went in with a left hand issue but still dominated the fight. He will require surgery to correct the issue and duBoef says Verdejo’s return will likely be in the fall.
"He has a little bit of a hand issue that will get resolved next week,” said duBoef. “We knew that going in but we’ll wait to see how long he’ll be out after the surgery. Instead of fighting every other month, we’ll probably have him come back in the fall.”
But like many others duBoef sees something special in Verdejo and sees him challenging for a world title in the near future.
“He was on control the whole time going forwards and backwards which is a special thing in a fighter to be able to counter or lead, I think in the next 12 months definitely he’ll be a world champion. He probably could win the title now. There no rush. I think we’ll see him probably in 12 months. He has the ability but he has that charm and charisma that lights up the room. We don’t see that in our sport very often.”