On Thursday, April 20, Lightweight contender Micheal Perez (25-2-2, 11 KOs) survived a knockdown to score a very close split decision victory against Marcelino Lopez (32-2-1, 17 KOs) at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York.
Perez, a 27-year-old native of of New Jersey, had just come off a stoppage loss to Peter Petrov, and he did not waste time in returning against a top-tier fighter.
Lopez, a 30-year-old native of Argentina, posed a lot of troubles for Perez. Lopez cut the ring off intelligently and was not threatened by Perez’s lack of power.
Perez had his moments, but in Round 8, Lopez dropped Perez with a counter left hook that appeared to solidify an oncoming victory. In the later rounds, Perez was in survival mode, making sure he would not get stopped in the fight.
The fight was close, and many fans and boxing media had Lopez winning the fight. However, the judges scored the fight for Perez, with scores of 96-93 and 97-92 for Perez and one score of 93-96 for Lopez.
“I won the fight for sure,” said Perez.
“My plan was to go in and box him, and work him with my jab. I knew I won, but know I could’ve been better if I had more rest before. Next time I fight, I’m going to the best I can be,” said Perez.
In the co-main event, Rashidi Ellis scored a majority decision victory against John Karl Sosa to retain his IBF North American welterweight title.
Ellis, a 23-year-old native of Massachusetts, posed an early threat for Sosa because of his speed and combination punching.
However, as the fight progressed, Sosa began to time Ellis’ combinations, allowing the 24-year-old native of Puerto Rico to land punches between Ellis’ combinations.
One judge scored it a draw, 95-95, which was overruled by two scores of 97-93.
All Photos by Emily Harney/Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions
