What could have been or what really never was?
Felix Verdejo suffered the first loss of career when he lost by TKO in the last round against Antonio Lozada Jr. and which stunned the pro-Verdejo crowd. Verdejo was talked about in the likes of Felix “Tito” Trinidad and Miguel Cotto as the next big thing to come out of Puerto Rico. However, that would never materialized as he had been quite disappointing in a career that has been marred with injuries.
Prior to the motorcycle accident, that would put him out for about 8 months, people were already questioning wether Verdejo was just a hype job. He failed to impress in a few bouts and suffering a few hand injuries perhaps didn’t help the matter. He would look lackluster in the ring and what once seemed like a good power punching boxer found himself looking like a fighter without pop in his hands.
Hand injuries were blamed for the issues he was having in the ring but perhaps maybe he wasn’t that good? Perhaps, he was just meant to be a decent fighter that could be lower talent at the world level? Or maybe he was a guy that started to believe his own hype and stopped working as hard in the gym? Who knows what the answer is, but what we do know is that he hasn’t looked the same and hasn’t fought multiple times in a year since 2016.
He never even made it to a big money fight or even to a main event fight worth talking about. Injuries do happen and it can take a toll on a person but to truly to comeback one must have the mental fortitude to get through it. You can’t blame the hand injuries on him but you can say why get on a motorcycle in the first place? It looks like the end of the road is near for a fighter that was supposed to a be a star and proudly carry his flag. It’s only one loss but it’s more so about how he lost the fight, with an opponent that walked through his hardest shots to deliver some of his own.
You can see the power seems to be gone and the hopes of him being on the big stage is dwindling. Maybe he was a hype job, maybe it was the injuries or maybe it was a combination of both. One thing that looks clear, Verdejo the next thing to come out of Puerto Rico, is just a myth. You will never here people talk about what he once was but more about what he could of been, in fact it’s gonna be more about what he never was.
By: Wilson Urena
