In losing to Saul Alvarez on Nov. 21, Miguel Cotto did more than just lose his WBC middleweight title. It was another signal that a changing of the guard is taking place throughout boxing. For the past decade or so, Cotto has been the flagship fighter of Puerto Rico, continuing the impressive lineage from this tropical island that churned out champions as if they were vessels of rum.
From Wilfredo Benitez to Edwin Rosario to Wilfredo Vazquez Sr. to Felix Trinidad and Cotto (among many others), they didn?t just fight for themselves but for their country as well.
And next in line seems to be Felix Verdejo, who faces Josenilson Dos Santos tomorrow night as the co-feature on truTV (10 p.m., ET/PT) from the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan.
Puerto Ricans have put their hopes squarely on his broad shoulders to carry on the fighting legacy. Verdejo, who?s as friendly a young fighter as you?ll ever meet, understands the burden. He said through Top Rank Promotions? Gary ?Wepa? Lopez on Tuesday, ?I think that?s what?s happening with the fans and I understand it and it motivates me even more to keep training hard to reach my goals.?
Currently his record stands at 18-0 (13) and, quite frankly, hasn?t had a real litmus test but there is a peculiar buzz around Puerto Rico that surrounds this 22-year-old phenom. There?s a sense that Cotto?s time has come and gone and that Verdejo?s time is now. The venue hosting the card tomorrow evening holds right around 8,100 patrons and a near sell-out is expected. While Nonito Donaire?s fight is the official main event for television, Verdejo is putting the asses in the seats.
There?s a sense that a good number of Puerto Ricans has had their fill of Cotto ? who was much more respected than beloved by his own people. Jose Sanchez, one of the most respected writers in this country (who has covered boxing for the El Nuevo Dia for years), told UCNLive.com on Wednesday, ?The pushed controversy, the fabricated controversy on the ?Canelo? (Alvarez)-(Miguel) Cotto scorecards has kept that as a talking point but I?ll give you an example: Last night at a dinner to raise funds for Prichard Colon?s medical expenses, there were over two hundred paying customers there, most of them obviously big boxing fans, and the questions were looking for validation, ?Canelo won, right?? Not even stating an opinion because there?s been a fabricated controversy there and sometimes even before that question, it was, ?What do you think of Verdejo??
?Verdejo was usually the first or second topic of conversation. I was personally approached, constantly, and they?re not asking about Cotto?s future or what?s the next step or ?Did he beat ?Canelo?? It?s just validation of what they saw. They immediately went to the Verdejo questions: ?When is he fighting for a world title?? ?How good is he?? ?What do you think about him?? So I don?t think Verdejo is the future of Puerto Rican boxing; I think he?s the present.?
And his biggest advocate is ?Tito,? who, to this day, is a revered figure to all Puerto Ricans. Word is that not only will he be in attendance on Friday; he will also accompany Verdejo into the ring. What?s interesting is that Cotto hasn?t shown all that much support to Verdejo outside of their time together with Top Rank. Sources say Cotto and his reps made an unsuccessful attempt to sign Verdejo after the 2012 Olympics and that relationship is cordial, at best. For years, it always seemed like there was a very distant, almost cold, relationship that existed between Trinidad and Cotto. Trinidad had no qualms about supporting Juan Manuel Lopez and now he?s all-in with Verdejo, who, in many ways, resembles Trinidad.
Sanchez, who covered both boxers, confirmed, ?There was always tense relations between Cotto and Felix. Felix, being the nice guy that he is, he would never openly say anything about that.? Trinidad, the jovial sort, always thought the rather subdued Cotto was a bit?well, dour. ?Not saying it as an insult,? pointed out Sanchez, ?but distinguishing Cotto from himself.?
The veteran scribe gives another example of the tension between the two, ?Like when Cotto was going to face Canelo, a couple of weeks before, Tito said, ?It?s a difficult fight; I want Cotto to win but I think Canelo has the advantage.? And Cotto came out and said, ?Well, he said that because he was never able to win four titles.’?
Trinidad sees himself in the personable and friendly Verdejo.
?The fact he was anointed by Tito, for the people, that?s like the best spokesperson ever doing ads for your product. If Tito says (Verdejo)?s the next one, people will take it as gospel,? says Sanchez.
For the last year or two, wherever Verdejo performs ? whether on the island or regions with sizable concentration of Boricuas such as Philadelphia or Orlando ? he draws a sizable throng. ?It?s really great; they?re great fans, great supporters of the Puerto Ricans and Verdejo is their number one guy,? said Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who is counting on Verdejo to be one of the foundations of his company, post-Manny Pacquiao.
2015 was a year in which it was hoped/expected that Verdejo would fight up to six times but with a problematic left hand, he saw an opportunity in February postponed and, after his HBO debut on June 13, against Ivan Najera, he underwent surgery on that troublesome hand. It caused a late October date for him to also be pushed back and eventually become this date. He will finish the year with just three outings. ?This is the kind of stuff that happens in boxing but I?m going to work hard to make up for the time lost,? he stated.
Yes, the hopes of Puerto Rican boxing are in the fragile left hand of Verdejo, who says, ?I feel very good, thanks to God, no pain or discomfort. The hand doesn?t bother me anymore going into this fight.? He says he has been able to train with the usual zeal under the guidance of Ricky Marquez. ?I?ve been able to use the hand as I?ve been supposed to use it. Everything is good.?
This bout versus Dos Santos is more showcase than competition, a way to springboard Verdejo to a strong 2016 in front of his ever-growing fan base. Sanchez says the atmosphere surrounding this particular event locally is more of a ?Christmas party? than a big fight. Arum hopes to land Verdejo a title shot at some point next year.
It?s tempting to rush Verdejo, given what he can become and the impact he can have on the business but the young man has remained patient with a healthy degree of perspective.
?I just want to be 100 percent every time I?m in the ring. It?s going to be a good 2016.?
TOP PROSPECTS
Top Rank has a nice group of prospects coming up who are all concentrated between 126 and 135 pounds including Oscar Valdez, Jose Felix, Jose Ramirez, Saul Rodriguez and, of course, Verdejo.
Arum says, ?We have a lot of great, young fighters that are going to breaking into the mainstream next year, all these guys. Yeah, some very, very interesting, fun fights. Whether they?re on HBO, our pay-per-views, truTV. We really have a lot of good fighters because unlike what (Al) Haymon is doing ? where nobody knows what the hell it is ? he just puts fights on We?re building fighters.?
