Mexican boxing has a new rising star as Olympic silver medalist Marco Verde has officially transitioned to the professional ranks.
The 22-year-old native of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, made the announcement Wednesday following months of speculation about his future after captivating Mexico in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Verde reportedly will make his professional debut in May on the same card as super-middleweight champion Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez, who is in talks for a title defense against International Boxing Federation super-middleweight champion William Scull, probably on the weekend right before Cinco de Mayo, which falls on a Monday this year.
Having compiled an amateur record of 43 wins and 7 losses, including 15 victories by knockout, Verde is now setting his sights on a world title in the middleweight division, which has a weight limit of 72.57 kilograms (160 pounds). His first pro opponent has yet to be determined.
“Ready for this new beginning. Amateur boxing is over, professional boxing is starting. I have always been told that I have what it takes,” Verde, who will turn 23 on Feb. 11, said during his press conference.
“There were beautiful moments as an amateur in the Central American and Pan American Games. But when I got on the podium in Paris, I felt that cycle was over,” said Verde in the company of manager Eddy Reynoso, who has managed Álvarez for years.
Verde, whose full name is Marco Alonso Verde Álvarez, won the gold medal in the 71 kg category at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, and took home a silver medal in the 67 kg category at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
His route to the silver medal made him a national hero at home, as no Mexican boxer had won anything beyond a bronze medal in the Olympics since Héctor López’s silver in the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Overall, Mexico has won 14 medals in Olympic boxing — including two golds and four silver — the country’s second most, behind diving, in any single Olympic event.
In the gold-medal bout in Paris, the left-handed Verde lost a unanimous decision to Uzbekistan’s Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev. In the semifinals, he beat Great Britain’s Lewis Richardson in a 3-2 split decision by the five judges.
Verde now joins a pantheon of professional Mexican boxers that has produced more world champions than any country besides the United States. His manager, for one, thinks the sky is the limit.
“He was already an Olympic medalist,” Reynoso said of Verde. “I have no doubt that if he stays disciplined and does things well, he will become a champion and a boxing star.”
Unlike Álvarez, whom Reynoso both manages and trains, Verde will continue to train with his longtime coach, Radamés Hernández, with Reynoso handling his career management.
Verde is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Mexican greats who have transitioned successfully from Olympic to professional boxing. This list includes Alfonso Zamora, a silver medalist in the 1972 Munich Olympics who went on to win a world bantamweight title, and López, a silver medalist at age 17 in 1984 who later was good enough to box in three world title bouts (losing each time).
Whether he can join the list of all-time Mexican greats that includes Álvarez, Julio César Chávez, Carlos “Cañitas” Zarate, Ricardo “Finito” López and Érik “El Terrible” Morales remains to be seen.
As for Verde’s yet-to-be-determined foe in May, Reynoso said, “We’re going to look for a good opponent according to his level. He’s already faced the best in the world as an amateur, so we want to test him in the professional arena.”
That means moving from the fast-paced, three-round format of amateur boxing to professional bouts ranging from four to 12 rounds.
“I need to calm down a bit,” Verde said. “I’m used to intense three-round fights, but now I have to be smarter, win round by round, and not rush it.”
With reports from Infobae and Excélsior
NOTE: This article originally misstated that Marco Verde is scheduled to fight boxing champion Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez.
