By Lyle Fitzsimmons

It’s graduation season.

The Southwest Floridian took to ESPN to stop unbeaten David Grayton in round 2 of a scheduled 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal – announcing what he hopes is his arrival as a future force to be dealt with in the sport’s perpetually talent-sopped welterweight division.

“I do feel more established,” he said. “I feel that I separated myself from fighters that have similar records because of the opposition I faced. They have no excuses because Grayton had a full camp. We both agreed to the fight three months ago. Both of us had big amateur backgrounds and were undefeated. People considered it even on paper and I took him out in two rounds.

“Last September, I knocked out Patrick Boozer in five rounds. Prior to facing me, Boozer beat three undefeated fighters and lost a split decision to an Olympian.

“But I believe this last win really moves me up the rankings.”

He’s 84th among the 147-pounders according to Boxrec.com, a position that has him 12 slots ahead of Mayweather swan-song finalist Karim Mayfield and two behind rugged gatekeeper Selcuk Aydin.

Within striking distance from No. 61 to 80 are more familiar names like future Hall of Famer Shane Mosley (61), recent Broner victim Ashley Theophane (62) and ex-champ Luis Collazo (73).

“It is a challenge and it's difficult to stay patient,” Perrella said. “But like they say, life is a marathon not a sprint. In this game, you have to pay your dues. You can't just get put somewhere, you've got to earn it. It sucks because you train so hard and put so much into it. Now I feel finally we've got the recognition that we deserve so everything is paying off.”

The 14th win and 13th knockout came on a far bigger stage – a televised feature before an Artur Beterbiev main event – than he’d previously performed on, but the winner insisted the surroundings didn’t add any additional stress or urgency.

In fact, Perrella said, the ringing of the bell signals an end to all occupational angst.

“No pressure at all,” he said. “The pressure is put on me in training. When it's fight time, it's time to have fun. I let my training speak for itself and my fists do the talking on fight night.”

Emerging from the boxing oblivion of Fort Myers provides a challenge of its own for the prospect known as “Goodfella,” primarily because of a lack of quality sparring.

The absence of training partners often forces him to hit the road, but he’s determined to become the fighter who’ll put the “City of Palms” on the map for something other than spring training baseball, spring break debauchery and the springtime homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. 

“There's never been a champion from Fort Myers and I want to be the first,” he said. “Fort Myers actually can become a boxing hotbed. There is a lot of talent here, more than people think. It's just a matter of getting the word and fighters out there. I think I'll pioneer it and get it started for champions coming out of Fort Myers in the future.”

If he does, he’ll give Bruce Lee some credit, too.

Perrella is a big fan of the early-1970s martial arts hero and claims the late star’s versatility is directly transferrable to his own approach to combat.

“The things that translate into boxing are his philosophies, ways of thinking and his mindset,” he said. “The mental aspect of Bruce Lee translates to boxing. He wasn't confined to one style. A lot of boxers have a confined style and admit it by saying, “I'm a come-forward fighter, I'm an inside fighter, outside fighter or whatever.’ Bruce Lee had no confined style and I believe I'm the same.

“Hit and don't get hit plus the boxing IQ, that's No. 1. Second thing is the size, strength and power. In a nutshell, I'd say I'm boxer-puncher but I can do anything in the ring wherever the fight takes me. I'm prepared to fight inside, outside, long range, mid-range. I can adjust and adapt then overcome any situation in the ring.”

He's hoping an alignment with Al Haymon will mean high-profile situations.

He’s fought 35 rounds across his 14 fights, and the Montreal trip was his first across an international border, though he’d previously fought in Florida, Texas, California, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Alabama and Mississippi.

His only distance fight – a four-rounder – came in his third pro outing in 2013, and the Grayton fight was his first scheduled 10-rounder. But he’s gone beyond the fourth round only twice, initially in a six-round TKO of Victor Fonseca in 2014 and then in the fifth-round stoppage of Boozer in 2015.

“It is difficult because of the talent (at welterweight) but I embrace that because there's also a lot of people that closely follow the division,” Perrella said. “I'm happy and blessed to be part of the division. I'm that much more motivated because I want to separate myself from the rest and be known as a top dog in the division. There's a lot of work still left to be done but I'm excited. It took a while to get any recognition but now I feel that I'm ready to face a top guy.

“The goal is to keep on going. Keep climbing the ladder. More knockouts and great performances. Whoever they put in front of us we have to dispatch. Like I told Al Haymon before we had our first fight with him, you line ’em up, we knock ’em down.”

And if the conversation is revisited a year from now, he’s already got the questions picked.

“How did it feel to win that title? Something like that,” he said. “Or, are you ready for this big fight? How do you feel being 19-0 or 20-0 heading into a big fight? That'd be a great conversation to have. I absolutely believe this is going to happen because I'm down to fight as much as possible.”

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This week's title-fight schedule:

SATURDAY
IBO super bantamweight title – Windhoek, Namibia
Paulus Ambunda (champion/No. 37 IWBR) vs. Moises Flores (No. 11 IBO/No. 6 IWBR)
Ambunda (24-1, 10 KO):  Second title defense; Never lost a fight in Namibia (24-0, 10 KO)
Flores (24-0, 17 KO): First title fight; Four straight wins outside Mexico (4-0, 2 KO)
Fitzbitz says: The Mexican challenger is younger, has more exposure outside his home base and is slotted 31 spots higher in independent rankings. Good enough for me. Flores in 10

Vacant IBO minimumweight title – Kempton Park, South Africa
Simphiwe Khonco (No. 7 IBO/No. 27 IWBR) vs. Siyabonga Siyo (No. 14 IBO/No. 19 IWBR)
Khonco (15-5, 7 KO): Second title fight; Lost challenge for IBO/WBA titles in September 2015
Siyo (10-0, 4 KO): First title fight; Third fight scheduled for 12 rounds (2-0, 0 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Siyo has a better record, but Khonco has been in with – though not successful against – the better competition. Anyone have a coin they’d like to flip? Tails for Siyo. Siyo by decision

WBO junior lightweight title -- New York, New York
Roman Martinez (champion/No. 8 IWBR) vs. Vasyl Lomachenko (Unranked WBO/Unranked IWBR)
Martinez (29-2-3, 17 KO): Second title defense; Third WBO reign at 130 pounds (2009-10, 2012-13)
Lomachenko (5-1, 3 KO): Sixth title fight (4-1); Reigning WBO champion at 126 pounds
Fitzbitz says: Martinez has been a perfectly respectable competitor at 130 pounds. But Lomachenko is an other-worldly talent who’s bound to take on higher-level quarry. He wins. Lomachenko in 9

Last week’s picks: 2-0 (WIN: Barthelemy, Smith)
2016 picks record: 42-9 (82.3 percent)
Overall picks record: 774-257 (75.0 percent)
 
NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.

Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.