Abraham Perez defends flyweight title against Yankiel Rivera

Abraham Perez stayed undefeated with a dominant win over Yankiel Rivera in a successful defense of his interim flyweight title Saturday in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

But it could be argued that he did much more than that.

Perez, 16-0 (7 KOs), is fast solidifying his standing not only as one of the top fighters in boxing’s lower weight classes but also as the next in line to carry the mantle of Albuquerque’s prodigal fighting son. And on Saturday against Rivera, Perez gave Kiva Auditorium and his hometown fans the kind of show they turned out for when he carved up his slower, less refined opponent by scores of 118-109, 120-107, 119-109.

Perez was quicker on his feet and had the faster, straighter punches – especially the power overhand right that was on point from the first round. He caught Cuba’s Rivera, 8-2-1 (4 KOs), a southpaw, early and again and again – including in the second round when Perez hit him flush on the nose and sent him sprawling. Although the challenger wasn’t badly hurt, when he rose from the canvas it was with blood splattered across his face.

Rivera was determined to make it a physical battle, coming forward, leading with his head and attempting to pin down Perez whenever possible. A head clash opened up a bleeding cut over Perez’s left eyebrow in the fourth, when Rivera had one of his best rounds.

But Johnny Tapia and Bob Foster would have been proud as Perez brushed off the setback and kept hammering away with the right hand and pivoting out of danger.

Occasionally, Rivera would slam Perez’s back against the ropes or hold him in a corner and let loose with both hands. But it was caveman stuff, and Perez either blocked or dodged all of the worst incoming fire before quickly escaping out a side door.

Then, in the ninth, Perez broke through in a big way. He landed several more right hands, but he was also putting together combinations. Dipping into his bag, he attached hooks and uppercuts to his jab and power right, placing them with punishing accuracy. Rivera was taking on water.   

By the 10th, the challenger was reluctant to step into a punch, let alone barrel forward as he had early in the fight. Perez had all but countered him into submission, and now he was dictating the action as the consistent aggressor. Rivera’s ragged gait and blank countenance suggested a fighter who had little left to offer – and who knew it.

Rivera hung on to the end, but the outcome (and its lopsidedness) were a foregone conclusion.

In the card’s only other world title fight, the Philippines’ Pedro Taduran, 21-4-1 (14 KOs), defended his minimumweight title in a unanimous decision and saddled Spain’s Brandon Moreno, 16-1 (5 KOs), with his first career defeat.

Two of the cards reflected the competitive contest most observers witnessed (115-113), while judge Anthony Romero had Taduran winning by whitewash, 120-108.

Also, Philadelphia’s Atif Oberlton, 18-0 (14 KOs), endured – but passed – the stiffest test of his career with a split decision win over Deon Nicholson, 23-2 (19 KOs), in their light heavyweight bout.

At heavyweight, Pryce Taylor, 14-0 (8 KOs), of Brooklyn, New York, was unimpressive in a sluggish, sloppy split decision over Georgian-born California resident Tsotne Rogava, 13-2 (8 KOs).