By Thomas Gerbasi

A visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico last December could have been a harsh preview of what William Silva might be in for on February 27 when he takes on island hero Felix Verdejo at Madison Square Garden’s Theater. But the Brazilian has nothing but good things to say about his treatment by Puerto Rican fans before, during and after his win over Bayan Jargal.

“Everybody was clapping and they were cheering for my fight, and I had a good performance so I wasn’t treated bad by the fans,” Silva said through manager / translator Adriano Dos Santos. “After the fight, a lot of people were asking about me and I was well received.”

They might not be as cordial in NYC a week from Saturday though.

“He has the biggest (amount of) fans over there, so yeah, I expect it,” he said. “But that doesn’t matter. It’s the fighters who fight.”

Truer words have never been spoken, and if anything, the 28-year-old from Sao Paulo appears to be quietly confident before the biggest fight of his career against the unbeaten Verdejo. It’s not a fight Verdejo’s fans expect Silva to win, but boxing pundits see “Baby Face,” who has a solid amateur background and a perfect 23-0 (14 KOs) pro record, as a live underdog in the Terence Crawford-Hank Lundy co-main event.

Silva_AY1J0161 (720x480)

And why shouldn’t Silva be confident? He’s turned back every opponent placed in front of him, and in Verdejo, he doesn’t see an unbeatable foe, just the next one.

“I’ve watched his career from the beginning and I’ve seen the majority of his fights,” he said. “I knew it was possible that we would fight because we were in the same weight class. I had the title (WBO Latino) that Verdejo has now anyway.”

On February 27, the two will scrap for that belt, but it’s a mere trinket for the winner. The real next step for the winner would be a world title shot at 135 pounds, but even more important for Silva is that by scoring the upset of the highly regarded Verdejo, he will give boxing in his native Brazil a jolt it hasn’t had in a long time. How long? Maybe not since the days when Acelino “Popo” Freitas was a world champion.

There have been some solid boxers emerging from the South American nation over the last few years, with Silva’s promoter, Top Rank, signing one of them, 2012 Olympic Silver medalist Esquiva Falcao, who has been one of Silva’s sparring partners in Las Vegas over the last two months. But if you’re a Brazilian fighter, the attention at home is mainly on MMA fighters and not boxers.

“In Brazil at the moment, it’s a good time for MMA,” Silva said. “It’s not that MMA has better fighters than boxing; it’s just that the market is better for it there now.”

So is it tough being a boxer in Brazil?

“Yeah, it’s complicated because of the position with sponsorships and good fights,” he said.

There is hope though, with Silva and Falcao being signed with Top Rank and Golden Boy inking two more Olympians in Everton Lopes and Falcao’s brother Yamaguchi. But the Brazilian boxing scene needs someone to go win that signature fight. Silva is willing to be that someone.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Boxing in Brazil needs an idol and they have nobody there yet. I’m stepping up for that.”

How soon? According to Silva, very soon.

“This is the year I’m gonna get the world title.”