Oliver Flores vs Felix Verdejo Preview February 3rd
Oliver Flores of Nicaragua will travel to the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico this Friday, February 3rd to take on hometown hero and undefeated Felix Verdejo. The 10-round bout will be for Flores’ WBO Latino Lightweight Championship and can be seen in the U.S. live on UniMas. Verdejo last fought in June when he stopped Juan Jose Martinez in the fifth round. Flores was last in the ring in December of 2015 when he was stopped in the third round by Takashi Uchiyama in a WBA Super Featherweight World Title fight.
Flores vs Verdejo Betting Odds
Here are the winner odds from online sportsbook 5dimes.eu
- Oliver Flores +2750
- Felix Verdejo -6000
My Pick
The 23-year-old Verdejo enters the bout with a perfect record of 22-0 along with along with 15 Kos. He’s stopped nine of his last 13 foes, but has gone the distance in three of his last five outings. He’ll be defending his title for the sixth time this Friday. He won the belt by stopping Marco Lopez in the fifth round back in April of 2014 and then dealt former undefeated contender Ivan Najera a 10-round decision loss during his first title defence. Verdejo then stopped Josenilson Dos Santos inside two rounds in December of 2015.
He also defended it against Willian Silva and Jose Luis Rodriguez, both by unanimous decisions. Verdejo turned pro in 2012 and has fought 92 rounds since then. But he hasn’t faced any legitimate top-10 boxers as of yet with his toughest opponents being Martinez, Lopez, Oscar Bravo and Sergio Reyes. He has good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 68 per cent. Verdejo hasn’t really stepped up in class as of yet and arguably won’t be doing so on Friday either. He’s a good young prospect, but will need to face a stiffer test sometime soon if he hopes to one day earn a world title shot. Give Verdejo for staying active though as he usually fights every few months, which is a fine idea for a young boxer.
Verdejo was supposed to take on WBO Lightweight Champion Terry Flanagan of England last November, but he had to pull out due to injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident. Verdejo’s power and skills have seen most of his earlier career fights end pretty early and that’s basically the reason he hasn’t got too many rounds under his belt up to now. He has a lot of speed and mobility with an excellent uppercut and is also adept defensively. He stands 5-feet-9-inches tall and has a reach of 71.5 inches. Verdejo fought in the 2012 Olympics in London, England and was beaten by Vasyl Lomachenko of Ukraine, who’s now the WBO Junior Lightweight Champion and arguably the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
The 25-year-old Flores is a southpaw who climbs into the ring with a record of 27-2-2 with 17 Kos. He gives away two inches in height as he’s 5-foot-7 with a wingspan of 67.5 inches, which is four inches shorter than Verdejo’s. He’s boxed 155 rounds since turning pro in 2006 and his current knockout ratio is 55 per cent. His two losses came against Uchiyama in his last bout and to Miguel Berchelt in the third round in November of 2012. Flores’ draws came against Abraham Rodriguez in a 10-round bout in 2011 and Santo Medrano in an eight-round affair in 2010.
Flores lost both of his bouts in which he stepped up in class and he’ll be facing another good opponent in Verdejo on Friday. His chin is also questionable at this stage after being stopped in both of his defeats. In fact, most of Flores’ opponents have had losing records. He’s going to have to step up his game quite a bit if he hopes to leave San Juan with a W next to his record on Friday.
Prediction…
This appears to be a bit of a tuneup bout for Verdejo as he’s still hoping to get that title shot against Terry Flanagan. Flores didn’t fight at all last year and it looks like Verdejo may be looking past him since he’s already got a bout lined up in Madison Square in June. Look for Verdejo to beat Flores by stoppage.
Verdejo should be too good forFlores.
Play: Verdejo -6000 @ 5dimes.eu
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Felix Verdejo betting • Oliver Flores betting