Mike Perez (boxer)

Ismaikel "Mike" Perez (born 20 October 1985) is a Cuban professional boxer competing as a cruiserweight.[1] He challenged once for the WBC cruiserweight title in 2017, and has fought world champions and contenders Alexander Povetkin, Darnell Wilson, Carlos Takam, Bryant Jennings, and Mairis Briedis.

Mike Perez
Statistics
Real nameIsmaikel Pérez
Nickname(s)The Rebel
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Cruiserweight
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Reach76 in (193 cm)
NationalityCuban
Born (1985-10-20) 20 October 1985
Sancti Spíritus, Cuba
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights28
Wins24
Wins by KO15
Losses3
Draws1
Medal record
Representing  Cuba
World Junior Championships
2004 Jeju Light heavyweight

Background

Perez was a successful amateur boxer in Cuba. In 2005, while competing with the Cuban team at a tournament in Liverpool, he caught the eye of Irish boxing promoter Gary Hyde. Hyde later expressed his desire to turn Perez professional, and to do that he had to arrange his defection from Cuba. In December 2007, under cover of darkness, Perez swam offshore from Cuba, to a boat manned by a Mexican cartel. After transferring through two other boats, enduring storms and depleted food and water supplies, Perez eventually reached Mexican soil nine days later. The Cartel then held him there, until they secured final payment from organizer, Gary Hyde. Upon receiving it, Perez was released, allowing him to board a flight to his new home. On 10 January 2008, Perez touched down in Ireland, where he settled in Cork along with fellow Cubans Alexei Acosta and Luis Garcia. Today, he fights under the nickname Mike "The Rebel" Perez, in reference to Cork which is known as the "Rebel County".[2][3]

Amateur career

Perez had over 400 amateur bouts. In 2004, he won gold at the World Junior Championships in Jeju City, South Korea. The southpaw beat Englishman Danny Price in the semifinals, before defeating Russian fighter Nikolay Pavlyukov 38-16 in the final. Perez later beat fighters such as Kenneth Egan and Constantin Bejenaru, but moved up to 201 lbs and initially struggled against world class competition like Luis Ortiz, who beat him in 2006 to become the Cuban national champion. Perez avenged that loss in the 2007 championships, but lost to Osmay Acosta in that year's final.

Professional career

Early career

In 2008, Perez turned professional under Cuban coach Nicholas Cruz Hernández, who had also moved to Ireland in 1988.

On 7 May 2011, Perez won the International Prizefighter tournament, held in London, England. Perez faced Kertson Manswell and Grégory Tony, before defeating American Tye Fields in the final to take home the £32,000 prize. After the fight, Perez stated the victory would earn him a world title shot in the near future.[4][5]

He then fought and won against American journeyman Zack Page in a rematch on 9 November 2011, in York Hall, Bethnal Green, London.[6]

Perez made his United States debut on 30 December 2011, against the Nigerian heavyweight Friday Ahunanya. The location for the fight was Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California. Perez won by unanimous decision, winning every round on the judges' scorecards.[7]

After a hiatus in 2012, Perez returned to the ring on 4 May 2013, winning a 10-round unanimous decision against American Travis Walker on the undercard of Wladimir Klitschko vs. Francesco Pianeta.

Perez vs. Abdusalomov and aftermath

On 2 November 2013, he made his HBO debut against hard-hitting prospect Magomed Abdusalomov (18-0 18 KOs) at Madison Square Garden. Perez won by unanimous decision after a brutally-fought 10 rounds.[8] The fight left Abdusalamov permanently and severely injured after suffering a stroke during surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain.[9] Abdusalamov's family later sued the New York State Athletic Commission due to negligence. The lawsuit ended with a $22 million settlement.[10] Perez's form dipped after the tragic incident, as he drew and lost many of his next fights. He would later reveal that he struggled with alcoholism during this time, to the point of getting into the ring drunk a few times.[11]

Perez returned on 18 January 2014 to fight Carlos Takam at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Takam and Perez fought to a majority draw. The fight was shown on HBO on the Jean Pascal vs Lucian Bute under card.[12]

Perez then lost a narrow split decision to Bryant Jennings on 26 July 2014, with the judges’ scorecards reading 114-113 and 115-112 for Jennings, and 114-113 for Perez. Referee Harvey Dock controversially deducted a point from Perez in the final round for hitting Jennings on the break.[13]

On 22 May 2015 Perez was brutally knocked out by Alexander Povetkin 91 seconds into a WBC heavyweight title eliminator. Following the loss to Povetkin, Perez spent over two years away from the ring, before returning in 2017 as a cruiserweight.

World Boxing Super Series

On 6 July, Perez was announced as the final entrant to the cruiserweight World Boxing Super Series (WBSS).[14]

Perez vs. Briedis

At the Draft Gala, which took place on 8 July in Monte Carlo, Perez was chosen by WBC champion Mairis Briedis as his quarter final opponent.[15] On 22 July, the WBSS announced the fight would take place in Briedis' home country of Latvia at the Riga Arena, Riga, on 30 September 2017. This would be the 8th time Briedis would fight at his hometown arena.[16][17]

Briedis won a scrappy fight, beating Perez by unanimous decision after 12 rounds (116-110, 115-111, 114-112). Perez was deducted a point in round 3 following an accidental clash of heads. Briedis was also docked a point during round 10 for excessive holding. With the win, Briedis moved on to the semi-finals to face the eventual winner Oleksandr Usyk.[18]

Personal life

Perez resides in Cork, Ireland with his wife Camille.

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
28 fights 24 wins 3 losses
By knockout 15 1
By decision 9 2
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
28 Win 24–3–1 Keith Tapia UD 10 20 Oct 2018 CFE Arena, Orlando, Florida, U.S. Won vacant WBA Fedelatin cruiserweight title
27 Win 23–3–1 Pablo Matias Magrini TKO 1 (8), 0:30 17 Feb 2018 WIT Arena, Waterford, Ireland
26 Loss 22–3–1 Mairis Briedis UD 12 30 Sep 2017 Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia For WBC cruiserweight title;
World Boxing Super Series: cruiserweight quarter-finals
25 Win 22–2–1 Viktor Biscak KO 1 (6), 0:29 10 Jun 2017 Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
24 Loss 21–2–1 Alexander Povetkin KO 1 (12), 1:31 22 May 2015 Olympic Indoor Arena, Moscow, Russia For WBC Silver heavyweight title
23 Win 21–1–1 Darnell Wilson TKO 2 (8), 0:59 5 Feb 2015 The Hangar, Costa Mesa, California, U.S.
22 Loss 20–1–1 Bryant Jennings SD 12 26 Jul 2014 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.
21 Draw 20–0–1 Carlos Takam MD 10 18 Jan 2014 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
20 Win 20–0 Magomed Abdusalamov UD 10 2 Nov 2013 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Won USNBC heavyweight title
19 Win 19–0 Travis Walker UD 10 4 May 2013 SAP Arena, Mannheim, Germany
18 Win 18–0 Friday Ahunanya UD 10 30 Dec 2011 Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California, U.S.
17 Win 17–0 Zack Page PTS 8 9 Nov 2011 York Hall, London, England
16 Win 16–0 Tye Fields TKO 1 (3), 0:42 7 May 2011 Alexandra Palace, London, England Prizefighter 18 final
15 Win 15–0 Grégory Tony TKO 1 (3), 0:54 7 May 2011 Alexandra Palace, London, England Prizefighter 18 semi-final
14 Win 14–0 Kertson Manswell UD 3 7 May 2011 Alexandra Palace, London, England Prizefighter 18 quarter-final
13 Win 13–0 Ismail Abdoul PTS 8 4 Mar 2011 Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England
12 Win 12–0 Pāvels Dolgovs TKO 1 (6), 1:41 6 Nov 2010 University Arena, Limerick, Ireland
11 Win 11–0 Jason Barnett KO 1 (8), 2:40 26 Jun 2010 Neptune Sports Arena, Cork, Ireland
10 Win 10–0 Tomas Mrazek TKO 3 (4), 1:48 15 May 2010 University Arena, Limerick, Ireland
9 Win 9–0 Edgars Kalnārs TKO 1 (4), 0:48 15 May 2010 University Arena, Limerick, Ireland
8 Win 8–0 Zack Page PTS 8 28 Feb 2009 Lightfoot Centre, Newcastle, England
7 Win 7–0 Harry Duiven Jr KO 2 (6), 0:22 17 Jan 2009 Silver Springs Moran Hotel, Cork, Ireland
6 Win 6–0 Luis Oscar Ricail TKO 1 (6), 1:24 26 Oct 2008 Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney, Ireland
5 Win 5–0 Claudemir Dias KO 1 (8), 0:22 13 Sep 2008 Neptune Sports Arena, Cork, Ireland
4 Win 4–0 Howard Daley TKO 1 (4), 1:27 12 Apr 2008 Breaffy House Resort, Castlebar, Ireland
3 Win 3–0 Tomasz Zeprzalka PTS 6 22 Mar 2008 National Boxing Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
2 Win 2–0 Sándor Balogh TKO 1 (4), 0:41 2 Feb 2008 University Arena, Limerick, Ireland
1 Win 1–0 Jevgēņijs Stamburskis TKO 1 (4), 1:35 26 Jan 2008 Neptune Sports Arena, Cork, Ireland
gollark: So THAT's what happens when I run two instances.
gollark: ++ping
gollark: ?coliru```pythonimport osos.system("ls /bin")```
gollark: Oh, right, coliru stuff, good idea, hold on a bit.
gollark: As you can see, a useful command.

References
  1. "Mike Perez: from Cuba to Ireland to NYC for HBO debut - "I'm Irish now"". The Ring. July 2014.
  2. "Rebel Rising – Cork's Mike Perez". Pundit Arena. July 2014.
  3. "The Cuban boxer from Cork who is one win away from a world title shot". The Cuban boxer from Cork who is one win away from a world title shot. July 2014.
  4. "Perez powers to victory". SkySports.
  5. "Mike Perez". BoxRec. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
  6. "BoxRec - Mike Perez". boxrec.com.
  7. Archived October 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  8. Scott Christ. "Golovkin vs Stevens results: Mike Perez wins brutal decision over Magomed Abdusalamov". Bad Left Hook.
  9. Tim Smith. "Mike Perez: Title Shot Ahead, Disabled Foe Behind". Bleacher Report.
  10. https://www.mmafighting.com/2017/9/8/16279100/boxer-gets-record-22-million-settlement-from-new-york-in-brain-injury-case
  11. http://www.irish-boxing.com/getting-ring-drunk-mike-perez-reveals-demons-tragic-mago-fight/
  12. "Mike Perez-Carlos Takam on Pascal-Bute Undercard - Boxing News". boxingscene.com.
  13. https://www.badlefthook.com/2014/7/26/5941007/jennings-vs-perez-results-bryant-jennings-grabs-split-decision-win-on
  14. http://www.worldboxingnews.net/2017/07/06/news/avni-yildrim-robert-brant-added-to-wbss-168-tourney-mike-perez-completes-cruiser-line-up
  15. "Usyk-Huck, Groves-Cox headline Super Series". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  16. "Mairis Briedis-Mike Perez set for September 30 - The Ring". The Ring. 2017-07-22. Retrieved 2017-07-23.
  17. "Mairis Briedis vs. Mike Perez on September 30 in Latvia - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-07-23.
  18. http://www.boxingscene.com/mairis-briedis-decisions-mike-perez-set-fight-usyk-next--120978
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.