Right Hook Roxy Verduzco Means Business

Verduzco will face Perla Lomeli of Mexicali, Mexico (7-5, 1 KO), and she won’t take her lightly in her second eight-round fight.

“I do know that she’s tough. She comes forward. She has experience. She’s not here to lose. I don’t expect anything less. I don’t underestimate an opponent ever. They’re here to win, and so am I.

“I’m just moving super-fast,” Verduzco, who is ten out of ten on the ambition scale.

“If I could fight tomorrow for a title, I would. Women, we don’t cherry-pick. We fight whoever, and we’re not afraid to win or lose, and that’s why we move up faster, because we’re not afraid. We’re going to fight the best of the best. I want to fight the best of the best.

“I want to fight the people who have the belts, or the eliminators for those belts. I do see myself next year, for sure, fighting for something with any organization. I want to get my name out there,” insists Verduzco.

Verduzco A Veteran At Age 23

Ever since Verduzco took up boxing at age eight, under the eye of her mother and trainer, the well-respected Gloria Alvarado, she had a front-row seat and a clear view of all aspects of the sport, both positive and not so much. Verduzco is clear about this reality.

“The pros is a different game, and it’s a lot more. You got to be more careful, you know? Experience has helped me make the right decisions,” said Verduzco. Despite all the games and politics, nothing made Verduzco reconsider.

“I’m so glad that I grew up with a family in fighting, and my mother is my trainer, my manager, and she wants the best for me. She’s not here to rip me off. She’s not here to do me wrong, and she has Mama Bear instincts too, and that’s a great thing about women. We’re hungry, we’re sharp, we look at the details, and that’s what protects these fighters,” declared Verduzco.

“I thank the woman before me, the pioneers, they’re the ones who opened the doors for all of us, you know, and they didn’t have the recognition, the money, the acknowledgement … They helped open doors, and now I’m walking through it.”

Exclusive Interview: Roxy Verduzco

Boxing, Business, and Entertainment

Verduzco understands that any professional sport is entertainment, competing for the entertainment dollar of the fan. “People pay to watch us because they don’t do it. So, they pay to watch us. I do feel bad for a lot of fighters that don’t have the marketing ability.

Verduzco says she takes advantage of being bilingual in English and Spanish, and a woman who has the social media skills to connect with the fans. But it’s not fun and games, even if she makes it look that way.

“I honestly don’t like it, but I have to do it. It’s something that is going to get me paid now. You have to have thousands of followers,” explaining it makes her more valuable as an opponent worth the risk due to the potential for ticket, pay-per-view, and merchandise sales.

Between her performance in the ring and her connection with fans outside the ring, Verduzco has ambitions for a title fight within the next year. Verduzco says she will move down to junior bantamweight chasing current WBC/WBO/IBF champion Ellie Scotney of Great Britain.

Scotney fights for the undisputed title against WBA champion Mayelli Flores Rosquero of Mexico on November 14, offering the potential of fighting for all four belts. Verduzco also said she’d love to face WBC World Featherweight champion Tiara Brown of Fort Myers, Florida.

Verduzco says she’ll gladly fight on Scotney’s turf in England, or against Brown in Florida, but she promises she would not leave it in the hands of the judges. “Let’s make it happen!” said Verduzco.

“I know that with my team, I make the right decisions. I have my eyes on a lot of women, because the belts are spread out everywhere right now. People are vacating belts. People are leaving to other weight classes, the older generation right before me. They’re all retiring. So right now, the seat is warm and it’s a perfect time.”

Roxy Verduzco Gets The Call From Katie Taylor

Earlier this year, Verduzco got the call to join Katie Taylor in her training camp as a sparring partner, preparing for her trilogy fight in July with Amanda Serrano. She calls it a beautiful experience.

“It’s just amazing to see that I was looking up to them, and now I get to share the ring with them. To me, it was just a humble experience in the sense of wow, like all this work, and now I’m finally on the same level as them, and I’m right here with them, training with them, side by side,” said Verduzco.

It’s not the first time Verduzco has trained alongside fighters at the highest level. She has her own hype squad among a group of pros who support her and are seen ringside at nearly all her fights in California. You may know their names: Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, Rolly Romero, and Gabriel Rosado.

“When people are having a bad time, they want to watch somebody that has a personality, you know. Teofimo (Lopez), Ryan (Garcia), I’m sure they make peoples’ days. And I’ve made peoples’ day, you know. We’re a family. It brings everyone closer.”

Verduzco’s Championship Inspiration

When Verduzco takes her ringwalk, expect to see her paying tribute to her beloved Los Angeles Dodgers and hoping for another World Series win.

“Baseball is part of my family. All my cousins played it. They all went to college for it. So it is in our blood. L-A baseball, that’s just something I love. love the sport so much, it’s probably right there next to boxing.

“I love the sport so much, it’s probably right there next to boxing and both baseball and everything … Boxing is culture. Baseball’s culture. Sports are just a culture that if you understand it, you know you’ve done it, you’ve been near it, you understand it is family. It’s a big family. The fans, I consider them family,” adding that the Los Angeles Dodgers bring a diverse community together during a tough year, which started with the wildfires in January.

NOTE: This San Diego Padres fan had a word with Dodger Blue Verduzco, but all in good fun.

Verduzco visualizes a title fight within three or four fights. “Whoever says yes, because a lot of the times, the ones that have the belts, they don’t want to fight me either, because it’s risky. It’s high risk, no reward situation with me,” saying she knows she’ll need to force the issue.

I deserve it. I deserve the respect. And I’m saying this in the most humble way. I’ve been here so long. I’m 20 years in boxing already. I started at four years old, three and a half, you know. I started competing at eight. So, I deserve to get that shot!”