Eddie Perkins was as slick as they come. Beautiful boxing which he maintained to a ripe old age. 2-time jr. welterweight champion and an avoided welterweight contender. A crying shame Napoles wouldn't put the title on the line against him. For such a wonderful reign as Napoles had, where he appeared to tackle everyone, this was a black mark on him. There's little out there to view (a few fights early in his career) but there is one fight late in his career from Japan on youtube against Ryu Sorimachi. You gotta see it because Perkins practically white-washes the Japanese. And he did that at an advanced age. And of course, who gets the title shot? Not Perkins.
He has limited fight footages but as @scartissue put it he was a slick and beautiful stylist. Just to give you an idea of his abilities. His performance against Ryu Sorimachi is brilliant. This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected
His losses to Duilio Loi, Nicolino Locche, and Jose Napoles are curious cases since those fights took place in their hometown and it's very likely that Perkins may have been jobbed due to homecooking. I wish there was footages of those fights to have a better idea of how they went. A fight footage between Jose Napoles vs Eddie Perkins would be an absolute gem.
Former bantamweight champion Johnny Coulon was the man who taught him the most about boxing per the late J. J. Johnson. Coulon ran a boxing gym in Chicago. J. J. knew as much or more about Chicago boxing history than anyone. Coulon was a tough taskmaster so many fighters he tried to teach didn't last long with him, but he and Eddie got along pretty well at least for a significant amount of time. So when you are watching Perkins you are really watching an old-school fighter.
Perkins is one of my favorite. Ive been collecting footage of him for years and Im fortunate to have seen him in his ninth fight, knocking out Olympian Chuck Adkins in one round all the way through to his fight with Maxwell Malinga six months before he retired. The is one of the most underrated boxers ever and if he didnt fight on the road so much he wouldnt have nearly as many losses. His first and third fights with Loi were hometown decisions that had he not lost the third fight he would have had a longer reign. He was super slick, quick, strong, always in shape, and could punch when he wanted to. His footwork and pinpoint counters are a thing of beauty and the way he could thread the needle and weave punches through someone's defense was incredible.
Curious how you guys see Eddie Perkins chances against other great fighters at 140 such as Pernell Whitaker, Julio Cesar Chavez, Antonio Cervantes, Aaron Pryor, Wilfred Benitez, Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Manny Pacquiao, Terence Crawford.
