Félix Verdejo
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Félix Giomar Verdejo Sánchez (born May 19, 1993) is a Puerto Rican former
professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...
and convicted murderer. As an
amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
he represented Puerto Rico at the
2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. Between 2012 and 2020 Verdejo competed professionally for
Top Rank Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including M ...
and held the
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...
Latino
lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...
title from 2015 to 2017. In May 2021, Verdejo turned himself in to police to face federal charges in the murder of his pregnant mistress. In 2023, he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.


Amateur career

Verdejo was the winner at lightweight at the
2012 American Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament The 2012 American Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from May 5 to May 12 to determination qualification spots for Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Qualified athletes Qualification summary NOTE: This ...
. Qualification was assured when Verdejo defeated a Mexican rival in the quarter-finals since the top-4 finishers qualified for the 2012 Olympics in his
weight class Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports including Rowing (sport), rowing, Weightlifting#Weightlifting sports, weight lifting, and especi ...
. At the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, Verdejo defeated
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nian José Huertas in the first round with a score of 11–5. Then he defeated Tunisian
Ahmed Mejri Ahmed Mejri (; born January 2, 1990) is a Tunisian lightweight amateur boxer who won the 2011 All-Africa Games. He also won the 2012 African Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament in his weight class. At the 2012 Summer Olympics The ...
with a 16–7 score before losing to
Vasyl Lomachenko Vasiliy Anatolyevich Lomachenko (also spelled Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko; , ; born 17 February 1988) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed between 2013 and 2024. He has held multiple world championships in three weight class ...
of
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in the quarterfinals 14–9. Verdejo was also a Panamerican Youth Champion.


Professional career


Early career

In October 2012, a 19 year old Verdejo became a professional by joining
Top Rank Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including M ...
, signing for an undisclosed amount that reportedly included a bonification $600,000. Verdejo won the "New Hispanic Promise" category of the
2013 Premios Juventud The 10th Annual Premios Juventud (Youth Awards) were broadcast by Univision on July 18, 2013. Performers * Abraham Mateo — "Señorita" * Maite Perroni — "Tú Y Yo" * Lucero — "No Pudiste Amar Así" * Ricky Martin — "Come With Me" * Pi ...
on July 18 of that year. After closing his 2013 campaign, Verdejo was voted "Prospect of the Year" by BoxingScene and Top Rank. He also finished second in Yahoo!'s list, which noted that any other year he would have been a "slam dunk winner". In his first fight of 2014, Verdejo faced undefeated Lauro Alcantar, winning by knockout in only 21 seconds. Verdejo continued his success throughout 2014, going 7–0 with 6 KO, making his career record 16–0 (KO 12).
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would go on to name Verdejo 'Prospect of the Year' for 2014.


WBO Latino champion

Verdejo would get his first chance to claim his first title, it was announced in January 2015. Top Rank announced Mexican
Marco Antonio López Marcus lopez is a Hispanic professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most profe ...
(24–5, 15 KOs) as his opponent in a scheduled 8 round bout for February 28, however this was later changed to a 10-round bout and took place on April 25, due to Verdejo injuring his hand. The fight was contested for the vacant WBO Latino
lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...
title, which was only at stake for Verdejo as Lopez weight 4 pounds over the lightweight limit. The fight took place in Puerto Rico as Verdejo claimed the vacant title via a fifth-round technical knockout. At the time of stoppage, all three judges had it 40–36 in favour of Verdejo. Verdejo made his first defence against undefeated American Ivan Najera (16–0, 8 KOs) on June 13 at the
Madison Square Garden Theater The Theater at Madison Square Garden is a theater located in New York City's Madison Square Garden (MSG). It seats between 2,000 and 5,600 people and is used for concerts, shows, sports, meetings, and other events. It is situated beneath the main ...
in
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. Verdejo, making his
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
debut, defeated Najera in a wide unanimous decision to retain the title. Verdejo scored two knockdowns and outpointed Najera with two judges scoring the bout 100–88 and one judge had it 99–89. Verdejo connected with 40% of his punches thrown compared to 30% from Najera. On December 11, Verdejo made a second successive defence of his WBO Latino title in Puerto Rico against Brazilian Josenilson Dos Santos (27–3, 17 KOs). In round two, Verdejo hit a big right hand that dropped dos Santos, although dos Santos beat the count, referee Roberto Ramirez Jr. stopped the fight after a count was given. Verdejo started off 2016 with a defence against undefeated Brazilian William Silva (23–0, 14 KOs) on the undercard of Crawford-
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on February 27, 2016, at the Madison Square Garden Theater. The fight was televised on HBO. Verdejo landed 106 of 421 total punches as he cruised to a one sided 10 round unanimous decision win against Silva who connected 45 of 325 total punches. Two judges had it 100–90 for Verdejo and the third judge had it 99–91. Verdejo would next fight two months later, returning to Puerto Rico against 29 year old Mexican Jose Luis Rodriguez (18–8, 11 KOs), who was on a four fight win streak, on April 16 in a 10-round bout at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente. Verdejo was originally supposed to fight Daniel Evangelista (18–6–2, 14 KOs), who withdrew from the fight due to
tendonitis Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tenn ...
. Verdejo won a one sided 10 round unanimous decision win over Rodriguez. He won the fight by the judges scoring it 99–91, 99–91 and 98–92. Verdejo used his power and speed advantage to punish Rodriguez with big shots to the head and body throughout the ten rounds. With this win, Verdejo was guaranteed a return to HBO at the Madison Square Garden Theater on June 11 against lightweight contender Jose Felix Jr. (33–1–1, 25 KOs). Following this win, WBA ranked Verdejo at #2 lightweight and
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...
ranked him #3. Verdejo fought on the undercard of the title fight between WBO super featherweight champion Martinez vs. Lomachenko at
Madison Square Garden Theater The Theater at Madison Square Garden is a theater located in New York City's Madison Square Garden (MSG). It seats between 2,000 and 5,600 people and is used for concerts, shows, sports, meetings, and other events. It is situated beneath the main ...
in
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on June 11, 2016. He defended his Latino title against 2nd tier Mexican boxer Juan Jose Martinez (25–2, 17 KOs), who had won six fights in a row since a seventh-round technical decision loss to Rey Bautista in September 2014. Verdejo was supposed to fight Felix Jr. however a deal could not be made, according to
Top Rank Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including M ...
vice president Carl Moretti, Felix asked for about 'four times the money available' for Verdejo's opponent. Verdejo, who had been criticized for his previous two decision wins, stopped Martinez in five rounds to retain his title. Verdejo was the aggressor, out-landing Martinez 90 to 36 and connected on 51 percent of his power shots. In Round 5, Martinez had a cut above his right eye and with 20 seconds remaining, Verdejo pinned Martinez against the ropes, before referee Michael Ortega jumped in at 2:40 and stopped the fight. Verdejo told his translator after the bout that he 'wants to fight the best'. Bob Arum spoke of the possibility of a world title fight between Verdejo and WBO champion Terry Flanagan for early November, however this would no longer be the case due to Verdejo suffering injuries in a motorcycle accident. On December 6, 2016, Verdejo announced that he was close to returning to the ring, slated to be for February 3, 2017, in his native Puerto Rico. Weeks later Top Rank confirmed that he would indeed fight on that date against former super featherweight title challenger Oliver Flores (27–2–2, 17 KOs) at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan. Flores is coming off a stoppage loss in December 2015 to then WBA junior lightweight champion
Takashi Uchiyama __NOTOC__ is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2016, having held the WBA (Super) super-featherweight title from 2010 to 2016. Early life He was born in Nagasaki Prefecture, grew up in Kasukabe, Saitama, and lives i ...
. The fight will aired live on UniMas. Verdejo won the fight via a 10-round unanimous decision. The three judges scored the fight 99–91, 98–92, 96–94 all in favor or Verdejo. With the win Verdejo landed a shot at the WBO lightweight title.


World title mix

On June 12, 2017, the WBO president
Francisco Valcarcel The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
received word that promoters Bob Arum and Frank Warren were working closely together to come to an agreement for a fight to take place between Verdejo and undefeated WBO lightweight champion Terry Flanagan. Some sources claimed the fight would take place on September 9 in Manchester. There was a hold up in the negotiations due to Verdejo being offered $175,000, however his representatives were looking for him to earn in the region of $450,000 having to travel to Flanagan's home country to challenge for the title. A deal was finally reached for the fight to take place on September 16, 2017, at the
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in London. WBO middleweight champion
Billy Joe Saunders Billy Joe Saunders (born 30 August 1989) is a British professional boxer. He is the first fighter from the Romanichal, Travelling community to win world championships in two weight class (boxing), weight classes, including the WBO middleweight ...
was confirmed to take part on the same card. The fight would also mark the fight time Flanagan would fight in London. On July 17, Warren emailed Top Rank to make them aware that Flanagan had suffered a leg injury, thus postponing the fight. The WBO requested that medical evidence had to be sent to them. Flanagan's team confirmed the evidence would be sent the next day. On August 5, 2017, Top Rank revealed that Verdejo would stay busy and fight on the September 22 undercard of
Gilberto Ramírez Gilberto Ramírez Sánchez (born 19 June 1991) is a Mexican professional boxer and unified cruiserweight champion who has held the World Boxing Association (WBA) title since March 2024, and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) title since Nove ...
vs.
Jesse Hart Jesse Hart (born August 14, 1989) is an American professional boxer who has challenged twice for the WBO super middleweight title; firstly in 2017 and again in 2018. Early life and amateur career Jesse Hart is the son of former Philly middleweig ...
in
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. On August 14, Top Rank announced that Verdejo would fight Mexican boxer Antonio Lozada Jr. (37–2, 31 KOs) at the
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in a 10 round bout. It would have marked the first time Lozada Jr. would ever fight professionally outside of Mexico, however Verdejo picked up an injury in training, forcing him to pull out of the fight. In December 2017, WBO president Francisco Valcarcel stated that Verdejo would need to work his way back into the mandatory position. With Flanagan moving to light welterweight and vacating his WBO lightweight title, the WBO ordered their #1 Ray Beltrán to fight #3 Paulus Moses for the vacant title.


Career from 2018

On December 22, 2017, it was announced that Verdejo would return to the ring after 13 months' inactivity at the Madison Square Garden Theater on March 17, 2018. A week later, Antonio Lozada Jr. was lined up to fight Verdejo. Lozada was scheduled to fight Verdejo in February 2017. In January 2018, Lozada signed the deal to make the fight official. Verdejo suffered his first loss as a professional, being stopped in round 10. Despite the ring rust, having not fought in over a year, going into the final round Verdejo was ahead 87-84 and 86-85 on two scorecards with Lozada ahead 86-85 on the remaining scorecard. In round 10, Lozada knocked Verdejo down once. After Verdejo beat the count and got to his feet, Lozada began to unload more shots which led to referee Eddie Claudio stopping the fight at 2:37 of the round. Following his first professional career defeat, Verdejo took eight months out and returned to the ring in Puerto Rico on November 10, 2018, against Mexican journeyman Yardley Armenta Cruz. The fight took place at the Mario Quijote Morales Coliseum in Guaynabo. Verdejo returned to winning ways after stopping Cruz in round 2. It was a left hook which sent him down and he was unable to recover. On April 20, 2019, Verdejo fought his second fight after his first loss, on the Crawford vs Khan undercard at the Madison Square Garden, against Bryan Vasquez, ranked #7 by the WBA at lightweight. Verdejo won by a 10-round unanimous decision, with the scorecards reading 97–93, 97–93, 98–92. It was a good win, but fans and media alike thought the once world-class prospect left a lot to be desired. After that fight, some critics pointed out that Verdejo could use a new trainer in the future. In October 2019, he was announced to have met with numerous trainers in the United States, who were interested in working with him. The following month, he announced that he will be working with renowned boxing trainer Ismael Salas, known for training Cuban greats like
Guillermo Rigondeaux Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz (; born 30 September 1980) is a Cuban professional boxer. Who held the unified WBA (Super), WBO and '' Ring'' magazine super bantamweight titles between 2013 and 2017, and the WBA (Regular) bantamweight title fro ...
, Luis Ortiz and
Erislandy Lara Erislandy Lara Santoya (born 11 April 1983) is a Cuban-American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the World Boxing Association (WBA) middleweight title since 2023 ( Regular version from ...
, in a bid to regain control and restart his career. In his first fight with a new trainer, Felix battled Manuel Rey Rojas to a unanimous ten-round decision. The first few rounds proved to be tougher for the Puerto Rican, but as the fight went on go got up to speed and managed to secure a clear win. Despite securing a clear win, critics were not impressed by the win, mostly because Verdejo felt like a blue-chip prospect and a star-in-making after the 2012 Olympics, but still hasn't delivered on the same level in the professional game. On December 12, 2020, Verdejo fought for the vacant
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...
Inter-Continental
Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...
title against Masayoshi Nakatani. Verdejo became the first boxer to knock down Nakatani, once in the first round and again in the fourth round. However Nakatani knocked Verdejo down twice in the ninth and the fight was stopped 1:45 into the round.


Professional boxing record


Personal life

Verdejo was born in
San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...
, and has two brothers and two sisters. Verdejo, the only boxer in the family, started boxing when he was nine years old. On August 7, 2016, Verdejo was involved in a motorcycle accident while traveling from
Fajardo Fajardo () is a Fajardo barrio-pueblo, town and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality part of the San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area, San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area in Puerto Rico. Fajardo is the hub of mu ...
to
Carolina, Puerto Rico Carolina (; ) is a Carolina barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico, immediately east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan and Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Trujillo Alto, n ...
. At first listed in critical condition, he recuperated quickly at a local hospital. He was with a companion, who was uninjured. He suffered a head injury and small lacerations. Verdejo was released from the hospital on August 19.


Murder charges

On April 30, 2021, Verdejo was named by police as a
person of interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...
in the disappearance of a 27-year-old pregnant woman, Keishla Rodríguez. Rodriguez's family said that she was pregnant with Verdejo's child. Her body was found on the San José Lagoon the next day. On May 2, Verdejo turned himself in to police and appeared in court via video link, pleading not guilty on May 11. It was revealed on January 31, 2022, that Verdejo would not be facing the death penalty. On July 28, 2023, and after more than 25 hours of deliberation, a jury found Verdejo guilty in the
kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...
and killing of his pregnant mistress, as well as the killing of an unborn child. The jury could not reach unanimous verdicts on the other two charges against Verdejo, which included
carjacking Carjacking is a robbery in which a motor vehicle is taken over.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is usually i ...
resulting in the death of a person, as well as possession and use of a firearm while committing a violent act. On November 3, 2023, Verdejo was sentenced to life in prison.


References


External links

*
Félix Verdejo profile
at
Top Rank Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including M ...

Félix Verdejo - Profile, News Archive & Current Ranking
s a
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verdejo, Felix Living people Lightweight boxers Boxers at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games boxers for Puerto Rico Boxers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for Puerto Rico 1993 births Puerto Rican male boxers Boxers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Sportspeople convicted of murder 21st-century American sportsmen Sportspeople convicted of crimes