Irish-based former heavyweight contender Mike Perez is raring to go tomorrow night, when he will box his cruiserweight debut. Tipping in at a ripped and ready 198-pounds – an incredibly low poundage when we recall how, as a heavyweight, “The Rebel” fought well into the 240s – Perez, 21-2-1(13) will box for the first time since his unexpectedly quick (1st round) stoppage loss to Alexander Povetkin in May of 2015.
Mike Perez
Mike Perez: Can “The Rebel” make waves as a cruiserweight?
Having suffered his share of misfortune during his promising heavyweight career, Cuban southpaw Mike Perez, 21-2-1(13) is currently looking in fantastic shape as he gets ready for his drop down to cruiserweight. The Irish-based 31 year old will face Tommy McCarthy, 9-1, on June 10 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Perez showed real talent at heavyweight, but at 6’1” maybe he always was going to be a little too small to be expected to be able to deal with the absolute giants.
Heavyweight Mike Perez set for ring return
Heavyweight comebacks might be catching at the moment, what with Sam Peter’s recent return and his scheduled December fight with Kubrat Pulev. Another big man set to return after a significant layoff is Cuban Mike Perez. Perez, last seen being stopped inside a round by Alexander Povetkin in May of last year (in what was one of Povetkin’s most impressive showings) will face Avery Gibson, 8-5-4 (2) on December 8 in California.
Alexander Povetkin Revives Career with a 1st Round TKO Over Mike Perez
The main event of the action-packed card at the Luzhniki arena in Moscow last night was the shortest fight of the night. Alexander Povetkin (29-1) sandbagged highly regarded Mike Perez (21-2-1) for half a round and cemented his mandatory WBC spot by winning the WBC Silver heavyweight title. He was already number 1 in the rankings prior to the fight.
Both competitors had notable amateur background. Alexander Povetkin won Olympic gold in Athens and Perez was a successful amateur for the Cuban national team winning the World Junior Championship in 2004. He later grew up to cruiser weight but failed to secure a spot in the national team having mixed success against the top dogs. Irish boxing promoter Gary Hyde spotted him at a tournament and lured Perez into defecting from Cuba. He arranged the prospect’s escape from the Island of Freedom using the services of a Mexican cartel. Perez was required to swim offshore from Cuba and board a cartel vessel in neutral waters and he ended up being hostage for 9 days until Hyde was able to pay what the cartel demanded for Perez’s release.
Povetkin obliterates Perez; Chakhkiev defeats Wright
In a total annihilation, WBC Silver heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (29-1, 21 KOs) blasted out an over-matched and pudgy looking No.2 WBC Mike Perez (21-2-1, 13 KOs) tonight in stopping him in the 1st round after brutally knocking him down twice in their World Boxing Council heavyweight title eliminator at the Luzhniki, in Moscow, Russia.
The 35-year-old Povetkin caught Perez by surprised early in the round with a right hand to the head that staggered him and caused him to back up a step. The 29-year-old Perez was badly shaken from the shot, and there was no way he was going to be able to recover from that punch. He just too hurt. Sure enough, moments later, Povetkin landed a clean right hand to the chin of Perez, sending him down on the canvas on his back. The chubby-looking Perez was able to get up from the knockdown, but his legs were totally gone.
Golovkin vs. Geale & Perez vs. Jennings weights
(Photo credit: HBO/Will Hart) At today’s weigh-in, WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (29-0, 26 KO’s) scaled in at 159.8 pounds for his fight against former IBF/WBA middleweight champ Daniel Geale (30-2, 16 KO’s) for Saturday night. Geale, who looked pale and not particularly defined, weighed in at 159.2. Golovkin looked ripped up in comparison, and showed a lot more definition than the Australian fighter.
The fight card will be taking place at Madison Square Garden in New York, and Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions expects a crowd of around 7,000 for the 18,200 seat arena. If this was a fight involving New York favorite Miguel Cotto, MSG would no doubt sellout, but Golovkin is from Kazakhstan and he lives in Germany. You can’t expect him or the Australian Geale to sellout the Garden.
Bryant Jennings vs. Mike Perez Set for July 26 MSG/HBO
New York City (June 9, 2014) Undefeated heavyweight’s BRYANT “By By” JENNINGS and MIKE “The Rebel” PEREZ will clash in a World Boxing Council (“WBC”) Heavyweight Title Eliminator on SATURDAY, JULY 26 at The Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden. The fight will be televised Live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT, it was announced today by K2 Promotions and Gary Shaw Productions in association with Antonio Leonard Promotions.
The winner of the 12-round bout will become the mandatory challenger for the WBC Heavyweight Title, which was vacated by longtime champion Vitali Klitschko earlier this year.