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A SHADOW BOXER GRABS A PIECE of the spotlight s Alejandro Perez has stayed dedicated through three years of obscurity -- much to the dismay of Antonio Escalante He's one of the game's shadow boxers -- a talented young fighter who almost never gets to fight outside the gym. So Alejandro Perez shows up every day, day after day, working his butt off to stay in top shape, within dehydration range of his optimum weight, and hoping to fend off what idle fighters call "ring rust." Perez is a native of Salinas, Calif. who relocated to Los Angeles to be near Freddie Roach's Wild Card Gym, a sweat factory at 1125 Vine Street in Hollywood where the atmosphere is all business, and the clientele is world-class. An any given day in recent years, Perez has shared the small space with Manny Pacquiao, Bernard Hopkins, Amir Khan, Vanes Martirosyan, Rey Bautista, James Toney, the Klitschkos, and countless others. Those guys have basked in boxing's brightest spotlight. Alejandro ... not so much. When he was undefeated, Perez had a five-year contract with Bob Arum's Top Rank Inc. Then he fought Adolfo Landeros, a journeyman with a 19-10 record, and lost a controversial split decision. Top Rank cut him loose immediately. Without a promoter, Perez was tossed onto the towering pile of fighters matchmakers regard only as "opponents," as opposed to marketable entities. With a record of 12-1-1, including seven knockouts, he became an afterthought -- one of those guys who, if he's lucky, might get an 11th-hour call to fill in for an injured fighter against some established stallion ... for peanuts. He was just 21. Perez has wallowed in that muck for the past three years, never losing faith in himself, never leaving the gym, matching punches with name-brand fighters who were preparing for some main event with a six-figure paycheck. In 2009, he got a belated call to fight undefeated Rico Ramos, a former national amateur champ and Olympic alternate, one of the sport's young shooting stars. With minimal time to prepare, he lost an eight-round unanimous decision -- another rude shove toward obscurity. Boxing promoters, matchmakers and fans don't tolerate imperfection. "It's very difficult. It can be very distressing to some fighters to train every day without a scheduled fight," he said. "If I let it bring me down, I won't want to train anymore. But I have friends, family and fans who keep pushing me, encouraging me, telling me to stay ready and something good will pop up." The Ramos fight took place on Thanksgiving Day 2009. He got a few calls after that, but every opportunity fell through, and Perez didn't get to fight again until Friday, when somebody needed a patsy to provide exercise for Antonio Escalante, a contender with a 24-3 record. The fight was the main event of a show televised worldwide on the Telefutura Network, a Spanish-language cable station. Perez starched Escalante in the first round. "I honestly can say I'm proud just to have fought Escalante, just because of who he is: a tough fighter, a world-ranked fighter. It was a privilege and an honor," said the ever-humble Perez two days after his biggest win. "(The knockout) was a big shocker to everyone. I was the underdog in this one, for sure." Suddenly, the shadow boxer suddenly finds himself back in the spotlight. He's the kid who knocked out Escalante, which makes him a formidable foe for most of the top 130-pounders in the world. Still just 24, Alejandro Perez once again is a "prospect" who -- if he can prove the Escalante victory wasn't a fluke -- could find himself living his lifelong dream at last. Previous columns by Dennis Taylor CLICK HERE: The meltdown of Floyd Mayweather CLICK HERE: Logic screams that Mosley is just a pawn CLICK HERE: To join the all-time greatest, Floyd needs a worthy challenge CLICK HERE: Big Brother is waiting for Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero CLICK HERE: Superstar! Andre Ward emerges as the new American Idol. CLICK HERE: You with the cellphone ... wave bye bye! CLICK HERE to contact Dennis Taylor |
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