By Miguel Rivera
Puerto Rican prospect Felix Verdejo (24-1, 16 KOs) returned in style with a second round knockout win of Mexico's Yardley Armenta Cruz (24-12) at the Mario Quijote Morales Coliseum in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
A solid left hook sent Cruz down to the canvas, and he was unable to regain his senses.
For Verdejo, who had not fought for eight months, it was the victory that he need to regain some of his confidence.
The last time Verdejo saw action was back in March, when he suffered a tenth round TKO defeat at the hands of Antonio Lozada at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Verdejo's future was unclear after tasting his first career loss. There was several lackluster performances in the past, and he lost a guaranteed world title shot after suffering injuries from a motorbike accident while hanging out with friends.
"After taking a loss, one gets more serious. You learn from a loss," said Verdejo. "Thank God and Puerto Rico for the support."
After suffering that defeat to Lozada, he made several changes to his team - like adding on veteran coach Evangelista Cotto, who took nephew Miguel Cotto to several world titles. And he also linked up with strength and conditioning trainer Memo Heredia.
The next move for Verdejo is unknown.
"We have nothing planned. We were waiting to get through this fight. Now we plan to sit down with the people at Top Rank," said the boxer's manager and head trainer Ricky Márquez.
