Perez Seeks Redemption Against Adams In 'Boxcino'
By Keith Idec
Alex Perez expects to redeem himself Friday night.
The last time the southpaw from Newark, N.J., fought on television, he suffered the lone loss of his pro career, a sixth-round technical knockout against Quebec’s Antonin Decarie. HBO televised that September 2012 bout from Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.
The 32-year-old Perez (18-1, 10 KOs) has returned to Connecticut for a junior middleweight match against Brandon Adams (15-1, 10 KOs). Their six-round fight is part of ESPN2’s 154-pound, single-elimination “Boxcino” tournament and will be televised from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., a short drive from Foxwoods.
Perez anticipates that anyone who watched him lose to Decarie will be much more impressed with his performance against Adams, who lost a unanimous decision to Willie Monroe Jr. (19-1, 6 KOs) the final of last year’s “Boxcino” middleweight tournament.
“They’re going to see a whole lot more from me in this fight,” said Perez, who usually fights at welterweight. “That wasn’t me at all. They’re going to see speed, they’re going to see effective aggressiveness and I’m going to try my best to use ring generalship in there. But I’ve got to be smart because I’m going to be in there with a so-called bigger guy.”
While a natural middleweight, Adams stands 5-feet-9, four inches shorter than Perez. The 25-year-old Adams still commands plenty of Perez’s respect.
“He’s a young bull,” Perez said of Adams. “Since I’m coming up in weight and he’s coming down, I’m sure he’s going to try to use that to his advantage. But a lot of people don’t know I’m blessed with power, so we’ll see how he reacts once he gets hit and feels my power. He’s strong and awkward, real awkward. We’ve just got to see how he reacts.”
Whatever occurs Friday night, Perez feels much better than he did in advance of his fight against Decarie (31-2, 10 KOs). Two-plus years later, Perez wishes he had withdrawn from the Decarie fight, even though it would’ve been on short notice.
“I was dehydrated,” Perez said. “I didn’t gain no weight [after the weigh-in]. Everyone in the room was looking over me, like, ‘Pull out. Pull out. Pull out.’ I was throwing up every half-hour, 45 minutes. I would say I stopped throwing up at 6 o’clock the night of the fight. I started heading over to the arena at 7:45. I started to feel better. I figured it was a 24-hour stomach virus. I was on the big stage and I didn’t want to pass it up. I should’ve pulled out. That’s what I learned from it.”
The winner of the Perez-Adams match will advance to the “Boxcino” semifinals, an eight-rounder against an undetermined opponent. It’ll be one of four “Boxcino” quarterfinals televised Friday night as part of a telecast set to start at 9 p.m. ET.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
