Felix Verdejo scored a higlight-reel knockout in the very first round of his lightweight match Thursday.- Puerto Rican Verdejo was fighting a previously undefeated boxer called Will Madera.
- Madera lost with one second remaining on the round clock — a buzzer-beating finish for Verdejo.
- Watch the knockout right here.
Felix Verdejo knocked his opponent down and into the corner with a blistering right hook, left uppercut combination in the opening round of their lightweight fight Thursday.
Verdejo scored the buzzer-beating finish inside the MGM Grand Conference Center during a
The American boxer Will Madera, 29, had never lost before let alone been knocked out, but it took only two minutes and 59 seconds for Verdejo, of Puerto Rico, to hand Madera his first defeat.
Madera only landed 12 punches in the whole fight (25.5% of his total punch output), according to Compubox data sent to Insider.
Verdejo, in contrast, swarmed his opponent with seemingly unrelenting flurries, landing twice as many shots (24 out of 59 attempted), many of which were deemed power punches.
Watch the finish below:
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"I am proud of the work I put in with my trainer, Ismael Salas … the hard work is paying off," Verdejo said.
"Madera is a good fighter, but when I had him hurt. I knew I could finish him."
Verdejo advanced his record to 27 wins (17 knockouts) against one knockout loss, is now unbeaten in four fights, and gradually climbing the lightweight ladder.
The fighter wants to target the top of that ladder, particularly Vasyl Lomachenko. The pair fought in the amateur ranks during the 2012 Olympics with Lomachenko winning on his way to a gold medal.
"As for what's next, Vasiliy Lomachenko is the top guy at lightweight," said Verdejo. "We have unfinished business from when he beat me in the Olympics. That's the fight I ultimately want."
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