Boxing In Ireland: Cork Cuban Perez Added To Limerick Undercard

Cork based Cuban heavyweight Mike “The Rebel” Perez has been added to the undercard for this Saturday’s Hunky Dorys Fight Night: Big Bang Theory at the University Arena in Limerick.

The main event will feature the first ever all Irish European title fight as Limerick’s own Willie “Big Bang” Casey takes on Dubliner Paul Hyland for the vacant European Super Bantamweight title while the hard hitting Perez will feature on the supporting card stepping in for fellow Cork based Cuban, Alexei Collado who has been forced off the card with a back injury sustained in training.

Perez has endured 2 frustrating months on the sidelines through illness but he is determined to make up for lost time starting on Saturday night. Perez contracted spotted fever from an insect bite while on holiday in August and the debilitating nature of the illness forced him to withdraw from scheduled fights in September and October.

He was originally scheduled to return to action on November 20th but when presented with the opportunity to return to action 2 weeks ahead of schedule Perez was only too happy to accept.

“It’s been so frustrating missing out on fights and all over an insect bite!,” revealed Perez, who won a World Junior title for his native Cuba in the amateur ranks. “I thought nothing off it at the time but when I got back to Cork after the holiday I knew I didn’t feel right. I had lots of tests done in hospital and the doctors eventually diagnosed it as spotted fever.

“I was quite sick with it and very run down. Whenever I tried to train my joints swelled up and it was very painful. The doctors told me that I just had to rest and let the medication take it’s course but it was very frustrating. I’ve been back in the gym now for the last month and just got two good weeks of sparring in so I’m feeling 100% now and I just want to get in the ring and start knocking guys out again!”

Limerick has proven to be a happy hunting ground for Perez in the past and he will be hoping for similar success on Saturday against Pavels Dolgovs. Back in May he made Irish boxing history by fighting twice in the Treaty city in one night! On that occasion he needed just 48 seconds to record his first victory before winning his second fight in the third round less that 2 hours later.

With his current record standing at 11 straights wins (9 by KO) since turning professional and relocating to Cork in 2008 Perez is one of the most exciting young talents in the heavyweight division and promoter Brian Peters expects him to make a big impact on the heavyweight division in the next 12 months.

“Mike’s been unfortunate over the past year with injury and illness but hopefully he has turned the corner now,” said Peters. “He had a serious shoulder injury which kept him out of the ring for over a year and he only returned to the ring in May and was just starting to get some momentum together again when he became ill.

“He’s back to his best now though and three fights in 5 weeks should see him back on track and finishing off the year in style. Mike’s only just turned 25 a couple of weeks ago so he’s still very young by heavyweight standards and he’s such an explosive fighter that I truly believe he will be the shooting star on the world heavyweight scene over the next 12 months or so.”

Perez will be joined on Saturday night’s card by compatriot and fellow Team Thomas member Luis “El León” Garcia with the prodigiously talented 22-year-old looking to continue his meteoric rise through the professional ranks when he takes on former two time World Champion Byron Mitchell. The American was the first man to put Joe Calzaghe on the canvas and is a noted puncher. Garcia has had just ten fights to date but is on the verge of cracking the world’s top 20.

Saturday nights card also includes the return of Martin “Iron Man” Rogan as the hugely popular Belfast heavyweight returns from a year long absence following a potentially career threatening neck injury.

Limerick based Galwegian Alan Donnellan also features with the 22-year-old light middleweight looking to stretch his unbeaten professional record to 3 straight wins against Bulgaria’s Zahari Mutafchiev. The LIT graduate has prepared for the contest by sparring with current Irish middleweight champ, Gary O’Sullivan and new Galway pro Jon Fogg who makes his debut at the University Arena on Saturday when he takes on Kiko Martinez’s training partner Ricky Pow.

There will also be an Irish title on the line on Saturday when Anthony Fitzgerald and Lee Murtagh finally look to get it on with Fitzgerald’s Irish title at stake. The duo were scheduled to clash on 2 previous occasions but both encounters were scrapped after Murtagh was forced to withdraw through injury but he will be hoping it’s third time lucky on this occasion. Exciting Dublin prospects Brendan Fitzpatrick and Gavin Prunty also feature on the card.

Tickets for the Hunky Dorys Fight Night: Big Bang Theory priced from €40 are available from Ticketmaster.ie / 0818 719300 and all usual outlets.