By Miguel Rivera
Felix "El Diamante" Verdejo is very focused on his next bout against Costa Rican Bryan Vasquez .
Verdejo (24-1, 16 KO's) will face Vasquez (37-3, 20 KO's) on April 20 at Madison Square Garden in New York as part of the undercard featuring the welterweight where Terence "Bud" Crawford will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title against Amir "King" Khan.
The fight between Verdejo and Vasquez will be for the lightweight gold title of the World Boxing Association (WBA).
One of the goals that Verdejo has on his mind is to land a revenge showdown with WBA, WBO lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, who beat the Puerto Rican boxer in the 2012 London Olympic games.
Lomachenko felt Verdejo was his toughest opponent in the Olympics.
"This is the goal we have talked about a lot because he wants those fights. One has to set a goal. We are going to get that opportunity for Felix to prove that he is an elite boxer," said physical trainer Angel "Memo" Heredia to Sara Hernandez.
Memo and veteran coach Evangelista Cotto have joined the team of the Puerto Rican fighter.
Heredia arrived in Puerto Rico about six weeks ago to get Verdejo into shape.
"Felix fought with [Lomachenko] in the Olympic Games, and he (Verdejo) did not have a hard time, and Bob Arum (the CEO of Top Rank) has said that he wants Verdejo to fight Lomachenko in 2020. [Verdejo] also wants with him. I think that would be a very lucrative fight," added Heredia.
"To get ready for Lomachenko, we would need a stronger preparation... the type where he will get much stronger."
For his part, Verdejo made it clear that he's wanted to face Lomachenko for some time.
"Absolutely yes. It would be a rematch, since he was the one who gave me my defeat in the Olympics. For me it would be an honor to fight (against him) as a professional," Verdejo said.