Johan Perez: record, next fight and profile →
Johan "El Terrible" Perez of Venezuela and unbeaten Paul Spadafora faced off during their final press conference, as they prepare to battle this Saturday at the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort in West Virginia. During the presser, former champion Spadafora (48-0-1, 19 KOs) said very little about his strategy to beat Perez, but discussed his seven week training camp to prepare for the fight.
Former Venezuelan champion, Johan Pérez is already in the United States to fight this Saturday night against former champion Paul Spadafora, for the 140 pounds interim belt of the World Boxing Association. Both fighters are waiting for the weighing ceremony and for the opening bell of the fight in West Virginia. The local Commission appointed Charlie Fitch as referee and the judges who will score the fight are Glenn Feldman, James Tiu and Rex Agim. Pérez has a record of 17-1 and Spadafora 48-0-1.
By Lyle Fitzsimmons - Perhaps Manny Pacquiao set a tone. After a week in which preview stories, radio interviews and water cooler talk about the returning Filipino ex-champion were the norm, this week already seems to be a redux of nostalgia. Within hours of the Friday weigh-in for Pacquiao’s Saturday fight with Brandon Rios, my other-side-of-the-world cell phone was blowing up with contact from another former holder of a welterweight title belt - one-time IBF champion Kermit Cintron. The Puerto Rican-born slugger, who discovered boxing long after he’d been a successful high school wrestler in suburban Philadelphia, has flown significantly under the radar since a fifth-round TKO loss to Canelo Alvarez in a 154-pound title shot in 2011. He was out of the ring for all of 2012 and has returned for a pair of off-the-beaten-path appearances this year, managing a split-decision draw Adrian Granados on March 22 in Chicago before outpointing once-beaten Jonathan Batista five months later in Oklahoma.
On Friday a press conference was held in Caracas to announce the super lightweight interim title fight between the Venezuelan Johan Pérez and Paul Spadafora on November 30 in United States. Pérez was accompanied by the President of the World Boxing Association, Gilberto Mendoza, his trainer Jorge Zerpa and his manager, Rafael Moron. Regarding his WBA world title bout, Mendoza encouraged Perez: "Johan has the mission to rescue what he let go. That's yours for your effort. "Be the Johan you can be", in reference to the interim belt he lost in Mexico with Pablo César Cano.
The team behind Venezuelan contender Johan 'El Terrible' Perez indicate that a deal has been reached to face undefeated Paul 'The Pittsburgh Kid' Spadafora on November 30th at the Mountaineer Casino in West Virginia. Perez (17-1-1, 12 KO) vs. Spadafora (48-0-1, 19 KO) will have the WBA's interim super lightweight (140 pounds) at stake. Perez bounced back from last year's seven round technical decision loss to Pablo Cesar Cano, with victories over former champion Steve Forbes and previously undefeated Yoshihiro Kamegai.
Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Robert Diaz says he might explore putting together a fight between Johan Perez (17-1-1, 12KOs) and former champion Zab Judah (42-8, 29KOs). In June, Perez moved up to welterweight to defeat previously unbeaten Yoshihiro Kamegai for the vacant WBA International title. Perez says the move to 147 was temporary and he plans to return to 140-pounds. Judah lost a twelve round unanimous decision to WBC/WBA champion Danny Garcia in April.
WBC international welterweight champion Johan Perez (17-1-1, 12KOs) is reportedly interested in facing Vicente Mosquera (33-2-1, 18KOs) for the vacant WBA "regular" junior welterweight title. Although Perez moved up in weight last month to win a ten round decision over Yoshihiro Kamegai, he is willing to move back to 140 for the right fight. This past weekend Mosquera was scheduled to face Joan Guzman for the vacant WBA belt, but Guzman was overweight by over eight pounds and the match fell apart. He instead faced late-sub Cosme Rivera and easily finished him off in three rounds.
Junior featherweight Manuel Avila won a one-sided eight round unanimous decision over Jamal Parram. There were few exchanges between the two fighters, but the action opened up more in the fourth round. Avila (12-0, 4 KOs) landed the more telling blows as Parram (6-8-1, 4 KOs) tried to load up with one punch. All three judges, including Boxingscene.com, scored the bout 80-72 in favor of Avila.
The weights are in for Saturday's Showtime televised tripleheader at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. In the main event, Marcos Maidana will face Josesito Lopez in a welterweight fight. Maidana was 147-pounds, while Lopez was 145.
CARSON, CALIF. – Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer announced at the outset of yesterday’s final press conference that he expects The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., to be sold out for the exciting fight card headlined by Marcos Maidana vs. Josesito Lopez this Saturday, June 8 on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING live on SHOWTIME® (10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT). “The venue has 8,279 seats and there are only about 800 seats left on sale so we definitely will have a sell-out,” Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions said. “That shows that cumulatively this card is the single best card we have had here in Carson.”