Boxer sentenced to life in prison for murdering his pregnant lover

According to ESPN, Former Puerto Rican boxer Felix Verdejo has been sentenced after being found guilty of the "grisly killing of his 27-year-old pregnant lover", Keishla Rodríguez in April 2021.

Verdejo was convicted of the crime in July 2023 on the "charge of kidnapping that leads to a death and one count of causing the death of an unborn child."

Verdejo was convicted based, in part, on a key witness, Luis Antonio Cádiz, who was also charged but reached a plea deal in the case.

Cádiz testified that Verdejo had pressured Rodríguez to get an abortion, to which she refused. He says Verdejo then "punched Rodríguez and injected her with a substance that Cádiz believed to be heroin before they both tied her limbs to a cement block and threw her off a busy bridge in broad daylight."

She was still alive when she was thrown into the water below, a pathologist testified. Cádiz says he called 911 after the incident to report where her body was.

Verdejo is a former Olympic boxer and finished his career with a 27-2 professional record.

This case brings up emotions from MMA fans who are dealing with Phil Baroni, an MMA fighter who is awaiting trial on charges he killed his girlfriend in Mexico.