Felix Verdejo averaged just 46 thrown per round in his last 4 fights and 10 power shots landed per round. Juan Martinez, making a huge step up in competition vs. Verdejo, averaged 97 thrown/26.9 landed per round vs. Emanuel Lopez, Jairo Lopez and Edgar Puerta.
Three-time world champion ROMAN "Rocky" MARTINEZ (29-2-3, 17 KOs), from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, and World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight world champion VASYL LOMACHENKO (5-1, 3 KOs), of Odessa, Ukraine, will go mano a mano for Martinez's WBO junior lightweight world title. Photos by Mikey Williams/Top Rank.
And the boxing gem of Puerto Rico, FELIX "El Diamante" VERDEJO (21-0, 14 KOs), of San Juan, Puerto Rico, will risk his WBO Latino lightweight crown, undefeated record and No. 2 world rating against JUAN JOSE MARTINEZ (25-2, 17 KOs), of Mexico City, Mexico, in the co-main event of a championship doubleheader Next Saturday! June 11 -- one day before the famed Puerto Rican Day Parade -- at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
The two bouts, scheduled for 12 and 10 rounds, respectively, will be televised live on HBO beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The non-televised undercard will feature the U.S. debut of two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time World Amateur Champion ZOU SHIMING (7-1, 2 KOs), from The Peoples Republic of China. Zou will be defending his WBO International flyweight title and No. 2 world rating in a 10-round bout against JOZSEF AJTAI (15-2, 10 KOs), of Hungary.
The six gladiators boast a combined record of 102-8-3 (63 KOs) -- a winning percentage of 90% with over 60% of their victories coming by way of knockout.
Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Puerto Rican Best Boxing, Diamante Promotions, SECA and Madison Square Garden, remaining tickets to the Martinez vs. Lomachenko / Verdejo vs. Martinez championship doubleheader are priced at $300, $200, $100, $50 and $35. Tickets can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008), and online at www.ticketmaster.com and www.thegarden.com.
