Former junior lightweight world champion Jose Pedraza has signed with Top Rank, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com’
“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,” Top Rank’s Bob 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.”
“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.”
“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.
“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!”