Miguel “Escorpion” Marriaga’s quest for a fourth world title shot continues inside the MGM Grand “Bubble” Thursday, July 16, in a scheduled 10-round featherweight main event against Filipino veteran Mark John Yap.
In the 10-round lightweight co-feature, Felix “El Diamante” Verdejo, closing in on a world title shot of his own, will fight the unbeaten Will Madera.
Marriaga-Yap, Verdejo-Madera, and undercard bouts will be televised live on ESPN.
Marriaga (29-3, 25 KOs) fell short in world title fights against Nicholas Walters, Oscar Valdez and Vasiliy Lomachenko, but he has knocked out four straight foes since the Lomachenko defeat in August 2017. He last saw action Dec. 7 in Pueblo, Mexico, and knocked out Alfredo Mejia Vargas with a body shot. Marriaga was scheduled to challenge Shakur Stevenson for the WBO featherweight world title March 14, but the bout was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yap (30-15, 15 KOs) is a 13-year pro and a former OPBF bantamweight champion who has not been knocked out since 2014.
Verdejo (26-1, 16 KOs) is seeking his fourth consecutive win since a shocking 2018 TKO loss at the hands of Antonio Lozada Jr. Now based in Las Vegas under the tutelage of Salas, the 2012 Olympian is coming off an ESPN-televised decision win Jan. 18 over Manuel Rey Rojas. Madera (15-0-3, 8 KOs), from Albany, New York, impressed American fight fans with his nationally televised decision win over the previously undefeated Thomas Mattice in February 2019. He is 2-0-1 since the Mattice victory, including a second-round stoppage over Edgar Ramirez on Jan. 28.
Verdejo was geared to be the next Trinidad, Cotto PR star. Def showed that type of talent starting off. That was prob his ceiling.
This is it for Verdejo, he needs to dominate or stop Madera. Even with that, I don’t know if he will be that great fighter we all believed he would be.