Felix Verdejo undergoes successful hand surgery
24
Jun
Dr. Steven Shin (left) and Felix Verdejo after Verdejo’s successful left hand surgery on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Top Rank Promotions
Felix Verdejo successfully had minor surgery on his left hand, it was reported on Tuesday.
The highly-regarded prospect from Puerto Rico traveled to the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles to have the procedure done.
Dr. Steven Shin performed the surgery on Verdejo, who has suffered inflammation in his hand in recent months.
“Everything was a success,” said Shin, who was selected as the best hand surgeon in 2014 by Castle Connolly. “We removed the bone spur in his left hand. It is as good as new.”
Shin has worked with boxers Vasyl Lomachenko and Brandon Rios and LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trailblazers among others.
Verdejo, who is promoted by Top Rank Promotions, began having issues with his left hand earlier this year, when he had to withdraw from a Feb. 28 bout against Marco Antonio Lopez. An MRI then revealed there was swelling in his metacarpal tendon.
Verdejo took some time off but did return to the ring on April 25, stopping Lopez in the fifth round. In his last bout on June 13, Verdejo improved to 18-0, 13 knockouts with a one-sided, 10-round decision over Ivan Najera in New York City.
Shin will reportedly re-evaluate Verdejo on Monday. He recommended Verdejo to not use his left hand for any boxing-related activities for three months.
While lingering injuries, especially to the hands, are part of the fight game, Verdejo’s promoter and management agree on a slow recovery.
“We’re not going to rush anything,” said Ricky Marquez, manager and trainer of Verdejo. “We will wait until Felix makes a full recovery. Once that happens, we will know when he will return to the ring.”
Information courtesy of a Top Rank press release.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since Oct. of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.
