One last ride with the Cuban Rebel Mike Perez, get in!

I'd like to see it. I was hoping we got it in the first round, as Dorticos is a bit better stylistically for Mike. If it happens now it would be the final.

Briedis-Perez is the most compelling first round matchup, should be good. Hard to pick Mike besting Briedis' speed and movement, but I sure don't think we can write him off. Mike's smart boxing, adept use of angles, combined with his front foot pressure and heavy hands is something Briedis has never seen before. I'm with you and will be rooting for him anyway.

 

Word.

 

Good to see Perez back in the ring.

 

If Perez could get down to 175 (190 OG Cruiser) he'd be best but too old now.

His calves are comically massive looks like drumsticks

 

Amazes me that like with Solis he has a fiercely loyal cult following who picked him in every big fight - despite the fact that he lost every big fight he's been in prior, had dedication issues etc. After Takam which he escaped with a lucky draw there were large sections of people who picked him to beat Jennings, Povetkin and recently Briedis. To be fair he was competitive in 2/3 of those losses but you'd think that the cult would have been swayed from picking him after each loss. Nope!

Perez has talent for sure and if he's to stay at CW he'll probably be able to beat most guys outside of the top 4 - but will never win a title unless it's from someone like Larena.

 

He beat Jennings though, Takam draw was fair (why did he take that fight only 2 months after fighting Abdusalamov in a brutal war?) and Briedis used dirty tactics to get rid of Perez. Povetkin destroyed him, but Perez was out of shape back then and claimed to be drunk before the fight. He struggled badly after the Abdusalamov fight, blamed it on himself that he ruined the life of Abdusalamov and his family...

He participated too early in the cruiserweight tournament, after being out of the ring for 2,5 years and only fought for 29 seconds against a tomato can... Perez is still fairly young and has the skills to pick up a belt, certainly at cruiserweight. I also believe he could be a top 10 heavyweight. He beats Whyte, Browne, Duhaupas, Kownacki etc in my opinion.

 

This is exactly what I was talking about!

Excuse after excuse from the Perez faithful. The guy has talent no question. But you can't make an excuse for literally every time he's come up short.

 

I know that is what you meant, but I think you underestimate the mental damage and consequences a bit of which he suffered from after his fight with Mago. His team also managed him badly, they needed to give him a long lay off immediately after that fight. The draw with Takam and 'loss' to Jennings also happened within 8 months after beating Mago. So I believe those 'excuses' could have been justified.

There were no excuses for the Povetkin fight and I felt he could have done more vs Briedis if he had several fights at cruiserweight for preparation + if the referee did not allow Briedis' dirty tactics in that fight.

As one of the Perez faithful, I would love to see him back and bring us more exciting fights. He will fight for a world title again and his team better prepare him for that in a decent way this time...