Manager: Felix Verdejo’s Body Did Not Respond Well In Upset Loss At MSG
Perhaps the biggest headline coming out of the March 17 Top Rank Boxing card at Madison Square Garden was the shocking defeat of once-heralded Puerto Rican prospect Felix Verdejo.
Verdejo lost to Antonio Lozada Jr. by 10th round TKO on the untelevised portion of the card in a fight many had Verdejo winning in an effort to quickly get back up to world title contention. Verdejo's trainer and manager Ricky Marquez spoke to El Nuevo Dia recently when he and Verdejo arrived back to Puerto Rico after the loss. Verdejo said that after weigh-ins, he felt drained and Marquez said for some reason, Verdejo's body wasn't responding well throughout most of the fight.
"Felix's body was not responding well, I think since the third round maybe. It's something we still don't have an explanation, but we'll see what went wrong. It looks like he wasn't able to recover after weigh-ins. He did rehydrate [after weigh-ins], but his body just wouldn't respond," Marquez said.
Verdejo was slightly ahead on two of the three cards by the time of the stoppage which was around 30 seconds remaining in the 10th and final round. Verdejo was previously knocked down in the round which meant Verdejo would have lost the fight on a split decision with a 10-8 score for the round.
Top Rank's Bob Arum had big plans for Verdejo if he had won his fight against Lozada. Arum hoped to have Verdejo potentially challenge for the WBO lightweight title, currently held by Raymundo Beltran, but now those plans seem highly unlikely at this point.
The former Olympic boxer was close to securing a fight for his first world title challenge against Terry Flanagan in 2016 but a motorcycle accident Verdejo had put a halt to those negotiations. Verdejo and Flanagan then agreed to a title fight in 2017 but Flanagan then got injured which made the fight impossible once more. Verdejo was supposed to fight Lozada on a Top Rank Boxing card last year, but Verdejo suffered another injury, which forced the fight to be postponed for the March 17 Madison Square Garden card.
