By Miguel Rivera

Puerto Rico's Felix 'El Diamante' Verdejo was dropped by the World Boxing Council from their rankings, for failure to enroll in the WBC's anti-doping program - which makes it mandatory for all WBC champions and fighters in the top 15 to submit to random drug testing.

However, Verdejo's manager says that he never had any knowledge or information about the initiative created by WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman.

Verdejo, 23 and unbeaten with a 22-0 record and 15 knockouts, was ranked third in the WBC. He is also ranked sixth under the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and first in the World Boxing Organization (WBO).

He is currently the WBO Latino champion, although that status may change due to the inactivity from the ongoing rehabilitation from his recent motorcycle accident.

Ricky Marquez, trainer and manager of Verdejo, called the move by the WBC as nothing more than a misunderstanding. Sulaiman made it known that anyone who didn't register for the program by the WBC's deadline, which recently passed, would be effectively dropped from the rankings or stripped of their title.

"I just found out about the program and I'm surprised [by the WBC's move]. What they did can make people think something malicious about Felix, and the reality is that he is willing to be tested, whether random or whatever and whenever. We really did not know anything about the program," said Marquez to El Vocero.

Verdejo's manager hinted that the lack of information could be due to the WBC's knowledge that the Puerto Rican fighter is currently aligned with the WBO.

"No, I'm not really surprised by these things, as we have already fought for the WBO belt and, quite possibly, that might have been a reason. They know that our interest in currently linked to the WBO for the moment," Marquez said.