Felix Verdejo vs. Masayoshi Nakatani - December 12, 2020

[Ruthless-RKO]

Verdejo To Face Nakatani on December 12, Ramirez To Return

Lightweight contender Felix Verdejo will see action for the third time in 2020 when he returns to the ring on December 12th inside of “The Bubble” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The ESPN televised main event for the date was originally slated to be an all Mexican showdown pitting WBC 130 pound champion Miguel Berchelt against unbeaten former WBO featherweight champion Oscar Valdez. The fight had to be put on hold when Berchelt tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week and Top Rank is working on a replacement fight.

Boxing Scene has been advised that standing across the ring from Verdejo will be Japanese contender Masayoshi Nakatani who is best known for giving unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez a tough fight in July, 2019. The Athletic first reported Verdejo’s opponent.

Verdejo defeated Manuel Rey Rojas by unanimous decision in January and followed that up with a 1st round knockout of Will Madera in July. This will be Nakatani’s first fight since his loss to Verdejo.

It isn't known yet whether Lopez will remain in the division or move up to super lightweight and relinquish his titles. If the titles are vacated, a win by Verdejo would put him in prime position to fight for one of them. A victory will also put Verdejo in the mix to face Lopez if he decides to stay at 135 pounds and defend his titles.

Boxing Scene has also been advised that two-time Cuban Olympic Gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez will also appear on the card against an opponent to be determined. Ramirez has remained very active despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The December fight will be his 5th of the year.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Verdejo could have been a world champion 3 years ago. When he was mandatory for Flanagan..

Easy picking's, but Verdejo got caught up in crap. Accidents etc.. Then he lost...

At least he's doing something.

Should be a good fight this,

[JxhDel.]

Nakatani is kind of awkward and can pack a punch but Verdejo can win this easily.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Fight week

[Ruthless-RKO]

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All the talk Verdejo was doing about stopping Nakatani..

Verdejo is finished.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Well he didn’t do that bad consider he dropped Nakatani. Something Teo didn’t do.. and was winning on the cards.

[margaret thatcher]

Masa gave Teo his best fight and now stops Verdejo, pretty good

[Ruthless-RKO]

Official Judges Scorecards at time
Of stoppage.

[Post 4 Post]

What a damn fight & both fought well!
Is this is for Verdejo or is Nakatani that good?

[jujigatame]

What a damn fight & both fought well!
Is this is for Verdejo or is Nakatani that good?

I think that's it for Verdejo at least as a serious contender. Nakatani is tough as nails with decent power but he's not THAT good, I don't think he's even a top 10 guy really. Verdejo just lacks durability and can't really hold up when guys make it a firefight in the late rounds.

[JxhDel.]

Nakatani has basic skills but he is quite tall, rangy, bony for 135 lbs, and goes right at you with some steam.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Nakatani Suffered Fractured Right Orbital Bone In Knockout Win Over Verdejo

Boxing Scene has learned that Nakatani suffered a fractured right orbital bone in their scheduled 10-round fight at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.

X-rays taken at a Las Vegas hospital confirmed what Nakatani feared to be true, that he sustained an injury similar to what he endured in his 12-round, unanimous-decision defeat to Teofimo Lopez in July 2019. Nakatani, 31, will confer with a specialist this week upon returning to Japan to determine if surgery is necessary.

Regardless, the damage Nakatani suffered Saturday night will delay his return to the ring in 2021. The resilient Nakatani (19-1, 13 KOs) hopes his dramatic comeback against Puerto Rico’s Verdejo eventually leads to a rematch with Brooklyn’s Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs), who since has beaten one of the best boxers in the sport, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and won four lightweight world titles.

It initially seemed Saturday night that the 27-year-old Verdejo (27-2, 17 KOs) would be the contender to gain momentum toward a shot at Lopez’s championships. He knocked Nakatani to his gloves and knees with a right hand barely a minute into an entertaining encounter ESPN aired, but Nakatani survived that trouble.

Verdejo knocked Nakatani to one knee with another right hand 1:13 into the fourth round, yet Nakatani withstood that flash knockdown, too.

Nakatani trailed on all three scorecards – 78-72, 78-72 and 77-74 – entering the ninth round. He got the knockout he needed to win by sending Verdejo to the canvas twice in that fascinating ninth round.

A jarring jab by the tall, rangy Nakatani knocked Verdejo into the ropes and then to the canvas with 1:37 to go in the ninth round. Verdejo answered referee Celestino Ruiz’s count, but Nakatani quickly floored him again, this time face first, with a right hand to the side of Verdejo’s head.

Ruiz immediately stopped their fight following that second knockdown, at 1:45 of the ninth round.

[Cent0089]

Nakatani Suffered Fractured Right Orbital Bone In Knockout Win Over Verdejo

Boxing Scene has learned that Nakatani suffered a fractured right orbital bone in their scheduled 10-round fight at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.

X-rays taken at a Las Vegas hospital confirmed what Nakatani feared to be true, that he sustained an injury similar to what he endured in his 12-round, unanimous-decision defeat to Teofimo Lopez in July 2019. Nakatani, 31, will confer with a specialist this week upon returning to Japan to determine if surgery is necessary.

Regardless, the damage Nakatani suffered Saturday night will delay his return to the ring in 2021. The resilient Nakatani (19-1, 13 KOs) hopes his dramatic comeback against Puerto Rico’s Verdejo eventually leads to a rematch with Brooklyn’s Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs), who since has beaten one of the best boxers in the sport, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and won four lightweight world titles.

It initially seemed Saturday night that the 27-year-old Verdejo (27-2, 17 KOs) would be the contender to gain momentum toward a shot at Lopez’s championships. He knocked Nakatani to his gloves and knees with a right hand barely a minute into an entertaining encounter ESPN aired, but Nakatani survived that trouble.

Verdejo knocked Nakatani to one knee with another right hand 1:13 into the fourth round, yet Nakatani withstood that flash knockdown, too.

Nakatani trailed on all three scorecards – 78-72, 78-72 and 77-74 – entering the ninth round. He got the knockout he needed to win by sending Verdejo to the canvas twice in that fascinating ninth round.

A jarring jab by the tall, rangy Nakatani knocked Verdejo into the ropes and then to the canvas with 1:37 to go in the ninth round. Verdejo answered referee Celestino Ruiz’s count, but Nakatani quickly floored him again, this time face first, with a right hand to the side of Verdejo’s head.

Ruiz immediately stopped their fight following that second knockdown, at 1:45 of the ninth round.

Savagery. Broken orbital bone must hurt af. He should think about retiring after this injury, especially if it was in Lopez fight too