By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Former two-time world junior welterweight champion Eddie Perkins who won the WBA title with a unanimous 15 round decision over the tall and handsome Filipino Roberto Cruz at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex on June 15, 1963 has passed away at the age of 75.
Perkins who stood 5’5” tall and won both the WBA and WBC titles dropped Cruz, 5’ 9 1/2” in the opening round and went on to win a comfortable decision with all three Filipino judges scoring the fight for the American.
Former Pasay City Mayor and boxing judge Wenceslao “Peewee” Trinidad had Perkins winning 72-68, Jaime Valencia scored it 73-67 and Teodorico Reyes 73-63 all for Perkins.
It was the first title defense of Cruz who had won the vacant WBA title with a sensational 1st round knockout of Mexican Battling Torres at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on March 21, 1963, dropping Torres twice in the opening round before finishing him off at 2:07 seconds.
The Cruz-Torres title fight was telecast on a delayed basis by IBC 13 while the title defense against Perkins was broadcast by dzHP Radio, the Manila station of the Radio Mindanao Network.
Perkins also scored a 5th round TKO over former world junior welterweight champion Pedro Adigue Jr in a ten round bout at the International Center Arena in Honolulu on July 21, 1970.
Perkins retired after losing four fights in a row, all on points. His last ring appearance was an eighth round points decision loss to Austria’s Francz Csandl on May 31, 1975.
Perkins had a ring record of 74-20-2 with 21 knockouts.
He passed away on Friday, Manila Time, in his home after being released from the hospital where he reportedly had been battling dementia and diabetes. Perkins was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi on March 3, 1937 and was handled by Hall of Fame manager Johnny Coulon.
He defended the title he won from Roberto Cruz twice before losing to Carlos Hernandez of Venezuela in a hugely disputed decision in Caracas, Venezuela.
Venezuelan judges Dima Fernandez (143-142) and Santos Arizmendi (146-142) scored the fight for Hernandez while the former all-time great boxer and referee/judge Henry Armstrong had Perkins a runaway, shutout winner 150-139 .
Perkins was enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008.
We recall Perkins as being a very decent and accommodating individual when we covered his fight and interviewed him before and after the title fight against Cruz.
He was a skilled fighter with great defense but also packed some power.
Perkins fought in 20 countries and faced some of the best including Jose Napoles and Nicolino Locche to whom he dropped ten round decisions, Kenny Lane who he beat over twelve rounds and Clyde Gray and Angel Espada who he defeated in ten round bouts.
Hall of Fame executive director Edward Brophy said Eddie Perkins was “a globe-trotting world champion. In the ring he was a gifted defensive fighter with terrific boxing skills.”
We ourselves join the international boxing community in mourning his passing and pray that Perkins finds peace in the embrace of the Lord.“Eddie Perkins was a globe-trotting world champion. In the ring he was a gifted defensive fighter with terrific boxing skills,” said Hall of Fame Executive Director Edward Brophy. “The Hall of Fame joins the boxing community in mourning"
