Verdejo: My Last Two Were Not That Good, I'll Keep Improving

By Steve Kim

As Felix Verdejo (21-0, 14KOs) prepares to face Juan Jose Martinez tomorrow night at the Theater of Madison Square Garden on HBO, he understands that his first two outings of 2016 against William Silva and Jose Luis Rodriguez (both 10-round decisions) have failed to impress fans and pundits alike.

"My last two performances have not been too good,"admitted Verdejo, thought to be Puerto Rico's next great prizefighter,"but I'm going to keep on improving. I'm very well mentally and physically."

When asked if he had made any changes to his preparation for this upcoming fight, Verdejo said through Top Rank publicist, Gardy Lopez,"For this fight we added a conditioning coach, that has helped a lot. He used to be the coach for Felix Trinidad and we added a couple of more things like better sparring partners and I'm more focused for this fight, too."

Verdejo has a record that stands at 21-0(14 KO's) and many believe he has star potential but his recent fights have left some wondering about his overall development. There is growing concern among those who have a vested interest in this career.

"A lot of people weren't happy, I wasn't happy, either,"said the 23-year old."That's one of the reasons why I prepared so well for this fight and why I'm more focused on this fight because what happens in this fight will determine what happens in my career."

Regardless, Verdejo says he hasn't lost any confidence in himself.

"Not really, I used what happened to me in the last two fights as motivation in the gym so I'll have better fights in the future."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com