Top Rank to keep jailed boxer Félix Verdejo on its roster and only will drop him if he is convicted


Top Rank chairman Bob Arum announced that the company will not sever its ties with Puerto Rican boxer Félix Verdejo unless U.S. federal prosecutors convict him in the death of his lover and unborn child.

Verdejo turned himself in to the FBI in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sunday evening, a day after authorities recovered the body of Keishla Rodríguez in a lagoon.

The 27-year-old former lightweight champion has been charged with kidnapping resulting in death, carjacking resulting in death, and intentionally killing an unborn child.

‘Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with the family that suffered this tragic loss of their daughter,’ Arum said in an interview with WAPA TV’s ‘Lo Se Todo TV’ program that aired Monday. ‘Anybody involved in the murder, obviously, committed a despicable act. That being said, we are aware that Félix has been arrested and is being held by the authorities. But let’s remember that the American system is that a person is innocent until he is proven guilty.’

Arum signed Verdejo to Top Rank after he represented Puerto Rico at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum told WAPA TV's 'Lo Se Todo TV' program that the company will only release Puerto Rican boxer Félix Verdejo if he is convicted for the murder of Keishla Rodríguez and her unborn child. Verdejo has been in prison since Sunday when he turned himself in to federal authorities in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after the 27-year-old woman's body was found a day after she was found in a lagoon

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum told WAPA TV’s ‘Lo Se Todo TV’ program that the company will only release Puerto Rican boxer Félix Verdejo if he is convicted for the murder of Keishla Rodríguez and her unborn child. Verdejo has been in prison since Sunday when he turned himself in to federal authorities in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after the 27-year-old woman’s body was found a day after she was found in a lagoon

Félix Verdejo has been fighting under promotional company, Top Rank, after he represented Puerto Rico in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London

Félix Verdejo has been fighting under promotional company, Top Rank, after he represented Puerto Rico in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London

Keishla Rodríguez was reported missing last Thursday and found dead in a lagoon on Saturday in Puerto Rico

Keishla Rodríguez was reported missing last Thursday and found dead in a lagoon on Saturday in Puerto Rico

The longtime promoter was surprised to hear that Verdejo was implicated in the murder of the 27-year-old Rodríguez, who maintained a friendship with the boxer from their days in middle school.

Verdejo appeared in U.S. federal court via video conference Monday and was denied bail by judge Camille Velez, who ordered him be held without bail ahead of a plea hearing. He is expected to be back in court next week.

Should Verdejo be allowed to post bail, the pugilist will not be promoted in any of Top Rank’s future fights.

‘We are not going to release him until and unless he is convicted and that is our position. This is a real tragedy,’ Arum said. ‘Félix, and our relation with him, seemed like an outstanding young man. He always conducted himself well and if in fact he is involved in this tragedy, that, you know, (is) horribly unfortunate and certainly not foreseen.’

As of Monday, Verdejo’s likeness was no longer on Top Rank’s website.

A court document reviewed by DailyMail.com shows that the charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office carry a maximum penalty of death. Prosecutors have not announced if they will seek to execute Verdejo.

‘A man no matter how bad he looks, is innocent until proven guilty and we will not release him from the contract, or end our relationship with him unless and until he is convicted,’ Arum said. ‘We will not have any participation, neither in the defense, nor in their legal situations. We will not be involved.’

A witness told the FBI that Keishla Rodríguez was punched  in the face by Félix Verdejo and injected with a syringe filled with an unidentified substance bought at the Luis Llorens Torres public housing complex. The witness said Verdejo used a wire to bound Rodríguez's arms and feet and tied a heavy block to her before throwing her off the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge at 8:30am on Thursday. The FBI complaint states that Verdejo then shot at Rodríguez's body as he stood on the bridge. The witness confessed to helping Verdejo kidnap and kill Rodríguez

A witness told the FBI that Keishla Rodríguez was punched  in the face by Félix Verdejo and injected with a syringe filled with an unidentified substance bought at the Luis Llorens Torres public housing complex. The witness said Verdejo used a wire to bound Rodríguez’s arms and feet and tied a heavy block to her before throwing her off the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge at 8:30am on Thursday. The FBI complaint states that Verdejo then shot at Rodríguez’s body as he stood on the bridge. The witness confessed to helping Verdejo kidnap and kill Rodríguez

Image of Keishla Rodríguez holding a pregnancy test. Family members say she had been pregnant for a month but that Félix Verdejo allegedly pressed her to get an abortion

Image of Keishla Rodríguez holding a pregnancy test. Family members say she had been pregnant for a month but that Félix Verdejo allegedly pressed her to get an abortion

According to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI, a witness who was with Verdejo said the boxer punched Rodríguez in the face and injected her with a syringe filled with an unidentified substance bought at the Luis Llorens Torres public housing complex.

The witness informed the FBI that Verdejo used a wire to bound Rodríguez’s arms and feet and tied a heavy block to her before throwing her off the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.

The complaint states that Verdejo then shot at Rodríguez’s body as he stood on the bridge.

The court document indicates the witness, who has not been named, helped Verdejo kidnap and kill Rodríguez.

Verdejo is pictured with his wife, Eliz Marie Santiago, 27, and baby daughter Miranda

Verdejo is pictured with his wife, Eliz Marie Santiago, 27, and baby daughter Miranda

Rodríguez was found in the San Jose Lagoon on Saturday after she was reported missing Thursday.

She was identified on Sunday from dental records, Puerto Rico’s Institute of Forensic Science said in a statement.

Rodríguez’s family said she was one month pregnant with Verdejo’s child. 

Keila Ortiz, the victim’s mother, told reporters she warned her daughter after she called her in Orlando, Florida, before she vanished on Thursday morning after Rodríguez said Verdejo was going to her house to see the results of a pregnancy test.

The family reported Rodríguez missing after she didn’t show up for her job at an animal grooming business.

Ortiz said Verdejo had threatened her daughter for not wanting to follow through with an abortion. 

Verdejo is married to Eliz Marie Santiago and has a two-year-old daughter with her.

His last fight was December 12, 2020, when he was knocked out in a 9th round loss to Masayoshi Nakatani in Las Vegas.

Verdejo suffered a motorcycle accident in the midst of 23 consecutive victorious fights before suffering a TKO loss to Antonio Lozada Torres on March 18, 2018, at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The former WBO Latino lightweight champion rebounded by winning his next four bouts and then fell to Nakatani.

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