Ivan Montiel: First of all, congratulations on your work in Felix Verdejo's corner [last weekend, Verdejo defeated Manuel Rey Rojas via unanimous decision to improve to 26-1].  

 

Russ Anber: I have known Verdejo since his amateur days. I have called his fights in the past.  Verdejo came to my office in Montreal when team Puerto Rico trained in Montreal.  Verdejo is a nice kid, and it was an honor to work his corner.  I am glad that Verdejo’s trainer Ismael Salas asked me if I could assist working their corner. It was a pleasure doing working with them.  As far as his performance goes, I believe this is an adjustment period for Verdejo.  This is his first fight with Salas, and I think Salas wanted to implement his own methods in order to change a few things. Verdejo responded well to his instructions.  Verdejo is not going to be perfect overnight but Salas did what he wanted to do with him.  Salas looked very happy in the corner, he was happy with the way Verdejo was boxing.  Verdejo stayed behind his jab.  We spoke after the fight and if the one thing that Verdejo must do is put combinations together.  Verdejo looked very good, he carries very good power working well with his jab by putting his punches together.  Verdejo can fit in the lightweight division once again.

 

IM: I agree but I must say, there are many people saying Verdejo is not the same fighter any more and that he’s not ready for a world title shot.

 

RA: You know what Ivan, I have not spent much time around him to be able to make that assessment.  I don’t know what his body language is like.  I don’t know what some of the signs are.  I don’t know what it was like before.  It’s difficult for me to give you an honest assessment.  I could see that Verdejo was focused trying to follow Salas' instruction.  His strategy being able to execute when Salas wanted it, I saw that in him.  I am going to have to be around him longer in order to determine what the body language means. For example, is Verdejo responding to instructions, how much is he learning?  I talked to the guys from [Verdejo's promoter] Top Rank after the fight. They felt Verdejo’s performance was better than they had witnessed in the past but not where it should be.  I think Top Rank still sees potential in Felix Verdejo.  I think Top Rank is expecting a little more from Verdejo.

 

IM: Do you think perhaps Verdejo’s loss against Antonio Lozada Torres in 2018 took something away from him?  Maybe Verdejo just doesn’t have that same confidence he once had?  Many people were already looking at this kid as becoming the next Puerto Rican star!

 

RA: It’s funny you say that since that’s the first thing I thought of going into this past weekend’s fight.  I didn’t spend much time in Verdejo’s dressing room since I had to wrap Eleider Alvarez's hands [on the same show].  I wasn’t able to see what Verdejo’s confidence was in that dressing room.  The first thing that I thought was Verdejo not seeming to have that confidence, that maturity, that cockiness that we would expect from him.  Verdejo was very focused trying to execute what Salas was saying.  I don’t want to be critical because once again I have not had enough time and don’t know what they are working on in order to make adjustments.  I don’t want to come off like every other boxing expert who thinks that they have the answer.  It’s more than just seeing Verdejo in one fight.  We have to see an evolution.  I said that about Teofimo Lopez going into his fight against Ricard Commey.  People said Lopez looked terrible in his fight against Masayoshi Nakatani, so there’s more to it than that!  These guys don’t get to this level based on just one fight.  I don’t want to be critical without knowing the facts first.

 

IM: That makes sense. However I am thinking maybe Verdejo should fight Antonio Lozada Torres once again in order to erase that loss.  I think it’s the best thing to do before going into a world title shot.

 

RA: Top Rank mentioned Verdejo suffering damage to his orbital bone.  I told them that there’s nothing to be concerned about.  I wasn’t aware of any injury.

 

IM: Let’s not forget that motorcycle accident in 2016.

 

RA: You know even that type of accident shows you that it doesn’t necessarily have to do with boxing but that type of accident can shake you up.  You can get set back by anything whether it be a motorcycle accident or even a car accident.  As far working Verdejo’s corner I sure hope I can work with him again!

 

IM: I guess let’s wait and see what happens with a world title shot for Felix Verdejo.

 

TOMORROW: Anber talks about Eleider Alvarez