Re-injury forces Verdejo out of Oct. 31st fight

Well so much for what I said in my last article. Although top prospect Felix Verdejo was scheduled to return from hand surgery to fight on Oct. 31st, and then headline a card that would feature Nonito Donaire on Dec. 11th, he's pulling out of next weekend's fight as he's re-injured his left hand -- the same hand he just had surgery to fix.

"I am very sad about all this. I wanted to give back to the fans in Kissimmee all the love they have shown me with a nice fight, but they deserve the best of me, and in order to give my best up in the ring I have to be 100 percent," said Verdejo through a written statement.

Obviously this news will also put his tentatively scheduled Dec. 11th fight in jeopardy, and might prove to keep the fast rising prospect on the sidelines for a bit longer. Verdejo had surgery on his left hand over the summer to remove bone spurs which had been causing him a lot of nagging pain, but seemed to bounce back well after the procedure. After his doctor cleared him to resume training and he said he was no longer feeling pain, things seemed to be on the up-and-up. But things obviously took a turn for the worse in short order, which leads us here.

Verdejo is still only 22-years-old, so hopefully he still has plenty of time to get his hand issues sorted out and go on to become the star that many have been anticipating.