By Jake Donovan
Richar Abril’s abrupt withdrawal from his twice-scheduled lightweight title defense versus Derry Mathews produced a ripple effect among his divisional peers. As the World Boxing Association passes out titles like a pastor hands out wafers, there were plenty of fighters in place to fill the gaps when it came time for Abril’s long overdue demotion.
Mathews remains on the April 18 show in Liverpool intended as a title challenge versus Abril - who is now a “Champion in Recess” – as he will face hard-hitting Ismael Barroso for an interim title.
The previous claimant to that belt is Colombia’s Darleys Perez, who now assumes Abril’s position as a full (regular) titlist in the eyes of the WBA.
“It’s not the way I envisioned everything, but I will take it and defend the title with honor,” Perez (32-1, 20KOs) commented when informed of the promotion. “This is great news and I’ve worked hard to get here. I really wanted to earn it in the ring but I deserve it.”
Perez came up just short in his previous bid at a title, suffering the lone loss of his career in a hard-fought 12-round decision to Yuriorkis Gamboa in their HBO-televised June ’13 clash.
Four wins have followed, including an impressive 12-round decision over unbeaten Argenis Lopez on the road in Dominican Republic last June. The bout was part of the WBA’s annual “KO Drugs” festival, in which all bouts on the show are sanctioned for some title or another. In that spirit, Perez landed in an interim title fight, walking away with the belt he’s since twice defended.
The latest came in perhaps his strongest showing to date, scoring a wide decision win over Jonathan Maicelo this past January. The bout helped kicked off the 2015 season of ESPN2 Friday Night Fights, while also serving notice to the other lightweights that he means business – more so these days with the added responsibility.
“I fight for my family, my team and my country. I want to bring more and more excitement to the lightweight division and give the fans what they deserve,” Perez insists.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox