It's been a while since Puerto Rican lightweight contender Felix Verdejo was seen in the ring, but on Thursday at the MGM Grand's Conference Center in Las Vegas - he even surprised himself with a vicious performance.

He was headlining the card, with a first round knockout of Will Madera, who went down and out from a combination of hard punches.

Verdejo, 27, has been training with Cuban veteran coach Ismael Salas in Las Vegas.

"I thought the fight was going to last a little longer," Verdejo told Jorge Laza. “I was surprised myself with the performance I gave. You saw the hard result of what I have been doing during all these months."

It was Verdejo's second victory under the tutelage of Salas. The former Olympian indicated that he followed the instructions in his corner to box patiently and find the opening to hurt Madera.

"He came out quite aggressive and obviously I paid attention to the corner, which Salas told me, to come out calm with the jab, hand in front, and little by little place the blows that were going to come on their own," Verdejo said.

"I had to win like this to show that I am ready for high caliber fights and that I'm  going to be around for a long time."

Verdejo scored his fourth consecutive victory since losing his undefeated record in March 2018 against Antonio Lozada in New York. Although he has a good streak, Thursday's victory sustains his commitment and dedication to recover the brilliance he lost since a motorbike accident seemed to derail his career in 2016.

Now Verdejo - who improved to 27-1 with 17 knockouts - will return to Puerto Rico to take a break and in a week do light workouts to avoid losing his physical condition.