By Per Ake Persson
He calls himself "Shrek", and with all due respect the nickname is not totally out of line. He is not just respected, but given the number of times he stepped in the ring on short notice - he is also loved by a number of promoters, agents and matchmakers around Europe for accepting all fights regardless of who is in the other corner. Fact is, he takes pride in being a journeyman - and fights that way - and with a record of 16-27 - he´s been one of the busiest and most in demand heavyweights in Europe for the past three years. He is Daniil Peretyatko a/k/a Daniel Peretiatko a/k/a as Daniel Peret, born and raised in Murmansk, Russia, but now residing in and fighting out of Kirkenes in the very north of Norway.
"I have been boxing almost all my life," says the now 36-year old fighter. "I began in 1984 and as an amateur I was Russian champ at Youth level, won a silver in the USSR military championships and won silver or bronze in several regional championships. I´m also a two-time Norwegian champ. All in all I went 120-30 in the amateurs but my style was always more suited for the pros."
Daniel turned pro in 2004.
"With hindsight I should have done it sooner but I was more or less forced out of boxing in the mid-90´s due to work and studies and I often ended up in places with no boxing clubs. I first came to Norway in 93 to learn the language and help the fishing industry in Murmansk to establish contacts in Norway."
Peret speaks Norwegian (which goes a long way in Scandinavia) better than most natives, English, some French and some German. Outside of boxing he´s been working in the fishing industry and as a painter. He´s also a cerfified trainer. As of right now he is working in Kirkenes, not the best place to be for a professional boxer especially one that have to travel at short notice. He was just on his way to leave for Murmansk for the weekend September 3 when the cell phone rang and they wanted him Karlstad, Sweden, for a four-rounder against Andreas Gustavsson. It was 20 hours to go before the bell was to ring. Daniel made it just in time and took Andreas the distance without any problems but lost a unanimous decision. However, a fight against Tom Dallas the following weekend in London fell through when his employers denied him time off.
"They told me they had hired a worker not a boxer," says Peret. -There are no training facilities where I am now so I do roadwork and shadowboxing."
Bad training facilities and bouts on short notice may play a part but Peret these days comes in at about 115 kilos/250 lbs which undoubtedly is a little too much and adds to the "Shrek" nickname. More often than not, many in the crowd sit there with a knowledgable smile when the hero enters the ring, who is usually much taller, muscular and powerful and they can compare their physical statues.
With Peret, a notorious slow starter, their smiles are confirmed and an early ending is expected. But as the fight goes past the first two rounds the hero finds himself in a difficult fight. Daniel protects himself, is durable and likes to get close where he throws a big right hook out of nowhere. It´s enough to make most of the prospects he fights looks limited and sometimes Daniel wins - or should have been given the decision. Add to that a good sense of humour and some showboating, Peret may leave the ring as a loser he´s doing it to a rousing applause from the crowd.
"Of my 27 losses I feel I won half of them. There are two fights in particular I was robbed in and that was against Vladimir Tereshkin in Germany and against Dave Ferguson in England," says Peret on the subject on how difficult it is to win fights abroad.
For the record this reporter saw the Tereshkin fight in Oberhausen and it was indeed close with Peret´s slow start blowing it on my card. The Ferguson fight was another close affair and Boxing News scored it a draw with the official score at 59-56 for the Englishman. Another fight, against Egon Roth in Germany, was cut from the scheduled eight rounds to six during round four with Peret, as usual, getting stronger as the fight progressed. The only time I´ve seen Daniel actually outboxed was against then fringe contender Fernley Feliz, an exellent boxer, who was able to keep it at long range.
Best prospects faced?
"I´d say Tyson Fury (Daniel stopped in two due to cuts) and Aldo Colliander (stopped in three) and since Aldo seems to be gone I would say Tyson is the best around right now. I didn´t see the fight against John McDermott but I have fought John (L 6) as well and he seems a little lazy in the ring and only do what he has to do and that might have cost him the decison."
The record, 16-27, at last count, includes every prospect, pretender and contender in Europe over the past three years. Up until last year, Daniel had a contract with a Russian promoter in St Petersburg for four fights a year and that got him four wins in a rare chance to be the hometown hero. But the contract expired and Peret is now a freelancer. He did beat two of Frank Maloney´s heavyweight prospects but other than that wins are hard to come by on the road.
As for the future Daniel says he want to continue boxing until 40 or 42 and then become a trainer.
"But it also depends on if I can stay in Norway, I love my country very much but to live there is difficult. As it is now my girlfriend and I reside in Kirkenes while our three-year old daughter is with her grandparents in Arkhangelsk."
The near future?
"I have an offer to fight in Kenya, and we have notified the matchmakers for the Arena show October 24 in Cuxhaven that I´m available to fight any of their guys and we keep looking for fights in the UK. I´m also seriously thinking about dropping down to cruiser. I believe there´s a big market for me, I´ve been around a lot and everybody knows me.
As for the very near future?
Daniel is ready anytime, and as old saying goes - have gloves, will travel!