Mike Perez (boxer)

Mike Perez
Born	Ismaikel Pérez (1985-10-20) 20 October 1985 Sancti Spíritus, Cuba
Nationality	Cuban
Other names	The Rebel
Statistics
Weight(s)	Cruiserweight Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Reach	76 in (193 cm)
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	27
Wins	23
Wins by KO	15
Losses	3
Draws	1
Medal record Representing Cuba World Junior Championships 2004 Jeju Light heavyweight

Ismaikel "Mike" Perez (born 20 October 1985) is a Cuban professional boxer competing as a cruiserweight.

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 January 10, 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".

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 Gregory Tony, before defeating American fighter 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.

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

Perez made his United States debut on 30 December 2011, against the Nigerian heavyweight boxer Friday Ahunanya. The location for the fight was Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California. Perez won a unanimous decision, by winning all of the rounds, on the judges' scorecards.

After a hiatus through 2012, Perez returned to the ring in May 2013. On the undercard of Wladimir Klitschko vs. Francesco Pianeta, he met American fighter Travis Walker. After 10 rounds, he took the win by way of unanimous decision.

Perez vs. Abdusalomov and aftermath

On November 2, 2013, he made his HBO debut against Magomed Abdusalomov at Madison Square Garden. Perez won by unanimous decision after a brutally-fought 10 rounds. The fight left Abdusalamov permanently and severely injured, as he suffered a stroke and had to go into a medically-induced coma before surgery. Abdusalamov's family later sued the New York State Athletic Commission due to negligence. The lawsuit ended with a $22 million dollar settlement. Perez's form dipped after this fight, 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.

Perez returned on January 18, 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 Pascal vs Bute under card.

Perez then lost a narrow split decision to Bryant Jennings on July 2014 on scores of 114-113 and 115-112 for Jennings and 113-114 for Perez. Referee Harvey Dock controversially deducted a point from Perez in the final round.

On May 22, 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

Main article: 2017 World Boxing Super Series - Cruiserweight division

On July 6, Perez was announced as the final entrant to the cruiserweight World Boxing Super Series.

Perez vs. Briedis

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

Briedis won a scrappy fight in his hometown, beating Mike Perez by unanimous decision after 12 rounds (116-110, 115-111, 114-112). Perez was deducted a point in round 3 following an accidental headbutt. Briedis was also docked a point during round 10 for excessive holding. With the win, Briedis moves on to the semifinals to face top-seeded Oleksandr Usyk.

Professional cruiserweight career to date

Cruiserweight

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

Briedis won a scrappy fight in his hometown, beating Mike Perez by unanimous decision after 12 rounds (116-110, 115-111, 114-112). Perez was deducted a point in round 3 following an accidental headbutt. Briedis was also docked a point during round 10 for excessive holding. With the win, Briedis moves on to the semifinals to face top-seeded Oleksandr Usyk.

Personal life

Perez resides in Cork, Ireland with his wife Camille.

Professional boxing record

27 fights	23 wins	3 losses
By knockout	15	1
By decision	8	2
Draws	1

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
28	—	—	Keith Tapia	—	– (10)	Oct 20, 2018	CFE Arena, Orlando, Florida, U.S.
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	Gregory 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

External links

• Boxing record for Mike Perez from BoxRec (registration required)
• Amateur record at the Wayback Machine (archived October 26, 2009)
• Bleacher Report - The Top 10 Heavyweight Prospects in the World