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“I’m looking forward to all the attention that he (Chavez Jr.) brings because I’m ready for it this time. I have the experience of all that attention now and I’m ready for this one.”–Jose “The Punisher” Perez Jr. looking forward to sharing a stage with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
 © Jesus Sanchez |
On July 23, 2005, from the San Jose State Events Center, in San Jose California, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will headline a non-televised fight show referred to as “Bloodlines.” The under-card will feature rising young super featherweight prospect Jose “The Punisher” Perez Jr. (7-0-0 with 4 KOs), who will take on Mexican national Salvador Castaneda (0-0-0). It is the first fight for Jose after his national ESPN television debut, |
on May 13, 2005, in which he took a four round unanimous decision. They say hindsight is always “20/20,” and this is what “The Punisher” had to say about his last performance, “I just wanted to do real good and I guess the pressure sort of got to me. I guess I was just trying a little too hard, but everything ended up ok. I did hold back some and did not throw as many punches as I wanted to, but I know that I did win. The dude was trying to head-butt and I guess I let him get to me instead of staying focused. It was a learning experience for me and, in the end, it was a good fight.”
Although his upcoming contest is non-televised, Perez is fully aware of the attention that the name of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. brings to a fight. With the experience of being before a nationally televised audience behind him now, “The Punisher” feels he is ready to put on a show. “I’m looking forward to all the attention that he (Chavez Jr.) brings because I’m ready for it this time. I have the experience of all that attention now and I’m ready for this one. The experience that I had with ESPN, I learned a lot. This fight is not even going to be televised, but even if it was, I know that I’m ready now and am going to show what I can do.”
And ready Jose does seem to be as he is a very talented young southpaw with good hand- speed, and solid fundamentals. His father, Jose Perez Sr., who also trains Jose, is currently guiding his career. The Perez’s have not been able to acquire the services of a promoter, even though legends like Emanuel Steward have said that Jose has a very bright future. “The Punisher” had this to say about that situation, “I’m not really sure why promoters have not signed me, but it’s probably because I have my father as a manager. A lot of the promoters out there don’t like father/son teams. Also, I think that they (promoters) are waiting for me to be a finished product and then they will pick me up. I just think that it is really important, so we need to get a promoter as soon as possible so that way my dad can focus on training me, instead of having to stress out about getting fights and stuff like that. It’s not so much that we really need one like right now because we are doing well, but it would really just help us a lot to get that done. We are going through a lot of stuff right now and having a promoter would just make things easier. My father would really like to focus more on the training part of all of this and that would be better for me.”
There are many young talented fighters in the sport today and “The Punisher” has shown the kind of potential to warrant consideration as one of them. Still, Perez feels that he is a work in progress and has a long way to go. “I know that I’m still learning a lot and have a lot of work to do. A lot of the other guys had longer amateur careers, and have fought more, but I think I’m learning really good. I work really hard every day and am always getting better. I know that I’m going to improve in every fight and will continue to learn. I’m always ready and will always be ready for fights.
In closing, Perez had this to say, “I just want to thank all the people that have supported me and I’m looking forward to making it a great fight. Thank you very much.” So fight fans, this young, talented kid from Fremont California will once again step into a ring on July 23, and continue his fistic journey. Perez soldiers on without the benefit of a full-time promoter, but does have the love of his father, and the devotion of a team behind him. Maybe someday soon, a promoter will see Jose as a “finished product” and sign the likable kid to a contract. Until that day, “The Punisher” will continue to go about his business of training hard, and dealing out some pain.
Contact Sergio Martinez at srg_mrtnz@yahoo.com
