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.
At age 31, Perez, who is based in Ireland and has a good 21-2-1(13) record, is young enough to be able to come again, and Irish-Boxing.com reports how Perez’ comeback will be guided by ace trainer Virgil Hunter. Southpaw Perez picked up some notable results prior to the shock defeat at the hands of Povetkin. Wins over Travis Walker and Magomed Abdusalamov (in a fight that sadly saw Mago suffer terrible career-ending, life threatening injuries; this having a big effect on Perez, who considered retirement afterwards) proved notable, while “The Rebel” also boxed to a draw with the dangerous Carlos Takam.
Perez’ only other loss aside from the one to Povetkin came via split decision against an unbeaten Bryant Jennings. Can the 6’1” southpaw prove to be a major force in the division again? The loss to Povetkin prompted Perez to call it a day and such a devastating stoppage loss can be a tough one to come back from. Perez, though, is usually durable and any fighter can get caught cold. A good fighter with an exciting style (the ill-fated fight with Abdusalamov was an amazing give and take slugfest) Perez, if he’s matched right and if he’s serious and fully focused, may well find himself in further big fights.
Look at Peter for example: he all but disappeared for the best part of five years yet now he has a shot (a long shot it may be) at re-establishing himself in a pretty big way if he can topple Pulev. Assuming Perez has not allowed himself to balloon and get totally out of shape, he too could get a shot at redemption.