|
Former junior lightweight world titleholder Jose Pedraza, who has been out of action for 13 months since losing his belt, has signed a promotional agreement with Top Rank. Pedraza will move up to the lightweight division and will have his first fight of the new deal in either March or April, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum told ESPN. "He's a good fighter and people that we are close to advised us that he was available, that (promoter) Lou DiBella's contract was running out and we decided to step in and sign him," Arum said. "He's a good, competent fighter and he has a lot of skills. He had one bad fight. He's looked pretty good in all of his other fights." The "one bad fight" Arum referred to was Pedraza's last bout, in January 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he struggled to make weight and then lost his 130-pound world title by one-sided seventh-round knockout to Gervonta Davis. "He had one terrible performance but his body of work is good," Arum said. "There were other circumstance which we were told about and a lot of distractions going into that fight. He was fighting with Lou at the time and upset about his purse and that kind of stuff, so we chose to believe that his fight (against Davis) was not much of a commentary on his full body of work." Pedraza had been with DiBella and co-promoters Gary Shaw and Javier Bustillo, as well as with adviser Al Haymon. But Pedraza has moved on and said he was happy to have a fresh start with Top Rank. "I feel very happy signing with such a great promotional company as Top Rank. I want to thank Bob Arum for giving me the opportunity of joining the Top Rank family, and for acknowledging that I have the ability and the potential to become a world champion once again," Pedraza said. Pedraza (22-1, 12 KOs), 28, known as "The Sniper," was a 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian though he did not turn pro until 2011. He won a vacant junior lightweight world title by lopsided decision over Andrey Klimov in June 2015 and made two successful defenses, winning a controversial split decision against Edner Cherry in October 2015 followed by a more clear-cut unanimous decision against Stephen Smith in April 2016. Arum has had great success promoting Puerto Rican fighters, most notably Miguel Cotto and Juan Manuel Lopez, and Top Rank also has other name fighters in the lightweight division, including newly crowned world titleholder Raymundo Beltran and pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko, who holds a junior lightweight world title but plans to move up to lightweight for his next fight on May 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York. "With Beltran and Lomachenko we have a good window for lightweights," Arum said. "And we still have hopes for (Puerto Rican prospect) Felix Verdejo, who will be on the March 17 ESPN card. ‎Pedraza against Verdejo would be a fight that would get all the Puerto Rican boxing fans excited." Pedraza and Verdejo are friendly and have sparred together, but Arum said it's a fight he would consider putting together. Pedraza said whomever he fights, he is just ready to get back into the ring after the long layoff. "After a year of inactivity and a lot of struggles, it feels great to achieve something this big, because I know that good things are coming," Pedraza said. "Signing with Top Rank means a lot to me because a lot of great Puerto Rican champions have fought under the Top Rank banner. I will be one more. I will become world champion once again, and I will be a champion for this great promotional company. The scope of 'The Sniper' is ready!"
|
