by David P. Greisman

Junior-welterweight prospect Mike “Yes Indeed” Reed was originally planning to face a foe named Victor Perez on the Oct. 4 undercard to Glen Tapia’s bout with Donatas Bondorovas in Atlantic City.

But Reed says he learned last week that the Perez fight is off. He doesn’t know who his opponent will be, but the 21-year-old from Waldorf, Maryland, is absolutely still looking forward to fighting on a show that will mark his official debut underneath the banner of promoter Top Rank.

“The fight is two weeks away. Going through a training camp is real brutal on my body, and that’s probably the biggest reason [to still fight],” Reed told BoxingScene.com on Sept. 20. “It’s kind of like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The fight is the fun part. The hard part is training, and I’m almost done with it, so for me to pull out would be brainless.”

Reed says it normally wouldn’t matter that he doesn’t know who his opponent will be. Normally.

“But actually this time I think it matters only because the guy I was supposed to fight was 5-foot-4,” he said. “We altered our whole training camp to fight a smaller opponent. I’ve been sparring smaller guys, shorter guys to kind of adjust because I’m always the shorter guy. And now more than likely it’ll be someone that’s taller than me, so it’s a little adjustment period, but we’re going it business as usual.”

Perez, a 21-year-old from Puerto Rico, is 3-2 with 1 KO and is coming off a six-round decision loss to John Karl Sosa this past April.

“He had a 3-2 record, and I’m 10-0, so when you look at it on paper, it’s like, ‘Why’s he fighting a guy that’s 3-2?’ But you know me, I never fight any ducks. He was another durable opponent, and I was going to get some rounds in,” Reed said.

Reed said he expects the replacement opponent to be someone who will push him and give him rounds. And he said he’s working to ensure that he doesn’t become one of those prospects to be undone by a last-minute substitute.

“One of the biggest things, we keep training camp going. We keep the pace of training camp going 100 percent,” he said.

Reed was 90-13 as an amateur, and his accomplishments in the unpaid ranks included wins at the National Silver Gloves in 2005, at the National Ringside World Championships in 2005 and 2007, at the Junior Olympic Nationals in 2009, and at the National Golden Gloves in 2011.

He also pulled in silver and bronze medals at other national tournaments, including a bronze at the 2011 U.S. Championships. He tried out unsuccessfully for the 2012 Olympic boxing team, then turned pro in 2013 instead of staying in the amateur system for another four years.

Reed last fought in June, scoring a decision over Alberto Morales in a bout that amounted to a tryout with Top Rank. Now he’s looking to send a message to those who might be beginning to take note of him.

“I’m here to stay and between the lightweight and junior welterweight divisions. I’m a force to be reckoned with,” he said.

As for whether he needs a knockout to win:

“Do I need one? Not at all. But it’s always nice to have one,” he said. “I think my performance, I’m a crowd-friendly fighter, so I never really need a knockout, but knockouts are always good. Fans love knockouts.”

Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com