Eddie Perkins

DFW · Jan 24, 2010

We don't hear much about this fellow. He was probably as good a junior welterweight as there was during the late 50's and through the early 70's. I was reading about his losing title fight to Carlos Hernandez which took place on Hernandez home turf. Two of the three judges were from Venezuela and gave the fight to Hernandez. Interesting that the other official was none other than the great Henry Armstrong who gave Perkins every round on his scorecard. Go figure!!!
I never got to see Eddie Perkins box but from what I have read he was one of the very best beating most of the very best of his time. It looks from his record that he was avoided by most of the champions getting very few title chances. He drew with and defeated Loi and then lost the title back to Loi on a very questionable decision. Loi then quickly retired rather than give Perkins another go.
If I recall correctly I believe the great bantamweight Johnny Coulon was Eddie Perkins manager.
Any thoughts on this great champion?

McGrain · Jan 25, 2010

I agree with you that he's under-exposed and was probably a great fighter. Lack of footage and his fighting in a (then) backwater division is what contributes to tht. Here he is a couple of years before he passed, looking good, isn't he?

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Sweet Pea · Jan 25, 2010

I've seen a small highlight of a demolition job he put on. I'll have to dig out the DVD sometime today to refresh my memory, but it sort of reminded me of the way Napoles took out Urbina. Definitely an explosive boxer/puncher.

Bill1234 · Jan 25, 2010

McGrain said: ↑

I agree with you that he's under-exposed and was probably a great fighter. Lack of footage and his fighting in a (then) backwater division is what contributes to tht. Here he is a couple of years before he passed, looking good, isn't he?

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Eddie isn't doing too good now health wise I don't think. During his 2008 hall of fame indcution he needed help getting around and couldn't sign his own autograph. His daughter made up stamps of his old signature and him do those instead, which was very nice. He seemed very happy to be there and getting attention again.

abraq · Jan 25, 2010

In the very first boxing magazine which I bought (actually I got my father to buy it for me) when I was all of eight years old, I recall - if memory serves me right - a fight account of Eddie Perkins stopping Bunny Grant.

I got confused reading the posts of McGrain and Bill1234. Is Perkins dead or alive?

By the way, the mag was an issue of 'The Ring'.

DFW · Jan 25, 2010

According to boxrec Eddie Perkins is still with us. Usually they keep up to date records on the fighters. I have noticed when other boxers pass on they show the death date right away so I am assuming Eddie is still alive.

McGrain · Jan 25, 2010

Yeah; he is still alive, that's my mistake. He suffers from dementia but is still punching.

WhataRock · May 3, 2010

Any more that can be added to this thread?

lora · May 4, 2010

I'm sure i've rtead over the years that his fight with Napoles was thought to be controversial at the time.Have to do some digging on that.

WhataRock · Sep 16, 2010

What film of Eddie is around?

sweet_scientist · Sep 16, 2010

His bouts against Paolo Rosi and Ruy Sorimachi are out there. There's a few clips of his fights with Duilio Loi, Lahourai Godhi, Carl Hubbard, Rocky Mattioli and Yoshinori Takahashi about.

Would love to unearth some of his fights with Napoles, Locche, Hernandez, Lane etc.

Longhhorn71 · Sep 16, 2010

Perkins was the type guy you saw pictures of in Ring Magazine in the Sixties and you knew he was a world class fighter.

GPater11093 · Sep 18, 2010

I recently watched the wee bit of highlights on the Loi fights. Heres my thoughts.

In the bouts with Eddie Perkins, Perkins seemed to out-manoeuvre Loi and dig in with hard punches that kept Loi off balance and unable to attack. That is about all I could gather from the film of these bouts as they were only brief highlights.
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I think he was a very sound boxer in his day.

Flo_Raiden · Jan 30, 2023

Starting to get more appreciation for this highly underrated fighter. He has very limited footage but from what I've seen from his fight against Ryu Sorimachi he looks great, very crafty operator.

I don't see much threads on him or a mythical match up between him and other great 140lb fighters so I'm curious what everyone thinks on how well he does against the likes of Cervantes, Pryor, Benitez, Chavez, Whitaker, Tszyu, etc. He does have losses against other greats such as Napoles, Locche, and Loi (whom he beat in their second fight).

Eddie Perkins: A Forgotten Champion No More
By Jim Amato

In a career that spanned from 1956 to 1975, Eddie Perkins engaged in 99 professional fights. He won seventy five of those contests. He met opponents in over twenty different countries. He truly was a “world ” champion.

Eddie lost three of his first five bouts but rallied to win seven straight. In 1958 he lost to Cleveland, Ohio’s Cecil Shorts. He stopped Shorts in a rematch and then he outscored rugged Frankie Ryff. In 1959 Eddie won a decision over Paul Armstead but lost to Carl Hubbard and was then halted by Al Urbina. It would be the only stoppage loss of Eddie’s career.

1960 was a good year for Perkins as he beat Larry Boardman, Paolo Rosi and Joey Lopes. In 1961 Perkins lost a verdict to Youngstown, Ohio’s L.C. Morgan. He would bounce right back to outscore the hard hitting Carlos Hernandez. That would lead to Eddie’s first title shot and on October 21st he met defending WBA junior welterweight champion Dulio Loi in Milan, Italy. After fifteen rounds, the bout was judged a draw. They would meet again eleven months later and this time Eddie won the decision and captured his first world title.

Perkins reign lasted only three months as Loi won a decision in their rubber match. Loi decided to retire and on June 15th, 1963 Eddie won his second title with a decision over Roberto Cruz for the WBA and WBC titles.

Perkins would defend successfully against Yoshinori Takahashi and the slick Bunny Grant. He also squeezed in five non title victories. On January 18, 1965 Eddie lost his crown to Carlos Hernandez. Seven months later he would lose to future great Jose Napoles.

Eddie was bound and determined to regain his title. He scored an important win over Kenny Lane but in 1966 he dropped a points call to Lennox Beckles. In 1967 he beat Adolph Pruitt and Paul Armstead but was then outpointed by the classy Nicolino Locche. Perkins came right back to beat Pruitt again. He finished the year with a draw against Joao Henrique.

Perkins put together a quite a win streak in 1968 but lost a decision in a rematch with Henrique. In 1970 Eddie re-established himself as a force to be reckoned with. He defeated Lion Furuyama, up and coming Clyde Gray and Pedro Adigue. He then lost a return match to Bunny Grant. Eddie then took out Johann Orsolics.

In 1971 Eddie defeated future champion Angel Espada but in 1972 he was upset by Victor Ortiz. In 1973 Eddie put himself in line for a welterweight title shot as he beat the rough and tough Armando Muniz to win the NABF welterweight title. Perkins would repeat his victory over Muniz in 1974.

Besides the two losses to Perkins and losses to Zovek Barajas, Marcos Geraldo and Angel Espada, Muniz was awarded a 1975 title fight with the great champion Jose Napoles. In Muniz’s defense during that time period he did defeat Ernie Lopez and Hedgemon Lewis. Nevertheless in 1974 Eddie deserved a title shot especially after a win over Japan’s Ryu Sorimachi. That would be Eddie’s last victory. After his failure to win the middleweight title from Carlos Monzon, Napoles opted to fight a rematch with Hedgemon Lewis. This left the deserving Perkins out in the cold.

Perkins would lose a decision to future junior middleweight champion Rocky Mattioli. An aging and discouraged Perkins would then lose verdicts to Maxwell Malinga and Shoji Tsujimoto. In 1975 Eddie had his last battle loing an eight rounder in Germany to Franz Czandl.

Perkins met seven world champions and countless contenders in his distinguished career. He fought anyone, anywhere, anytime. Eddie is right where he belongs, in the Hall Of Fame!

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Flo_Raiden · Jan 30, 2023

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