ORLANDO — To most, it might be a small belt worth mentioning, but for Cuban Daniele Perreault, someone has the WBA Continental Heavyweight Championship belt wrapped around his waist , a priceless symbol of the progress he has made.
A Cuban defector loses 9-0 (7 KOs) to silver medalist Richard Torrez Jnr of Central Pero, Calif., at the Royal Caribbean Arena at the 2021 Summer Olympics. 8-2 (6 KOs) win over Detroit’s Walter Burns to earn one of the most valuable promotion card hotels.
The main event is a WBA interim bantamweight title fight between Florida’s Antonio Vargas, 18-1 (10 KOs), and Nicaragua’s Winston Guerrero, 22-0 ( 13 KO). Both fighters hit weight on Thursday and the full weights from the full card are listed below.
Perot has won five straight technical knockouts, and his trainer Bob Santos has nicknamed his fighter “Fear” and said he deserves consideration for Rookie of the Year.
Perot was motivated by personal pain, having endured several failed defections from Cuba, one of which affected his training for the Olympics.
“Everybody goes through tough times. Those were my tough times,” Perreault said. “Everyone has a dream too. I had a dream that God had better, bigger ideas for me to accomplish something great and make history.”
He won’t bemoan Torrez’s loss, knowing full well how the top product got off to a 12-0 start with 11 knockouts, including one in Phoenix on Saturday.
“It was a tough battle. Things happen, but I have no excuses,” Perreault said. “I want to do my best. I now want to continue to grow and do better every time. These things happen in Cuba. I can’t be as disciplined as I want to be. I want to keep chasing my dreams.”
That dream started with this little belt on the card playing out under the watchful eyes of many important figures as the WBA convention kicked off.
“This is my first title fight, so it means a lot,” Perreault said. “I hope it gets me into 2025, where I can only imagine what’s in store for me. I’m willing to fight as long as I can.”
Perreault’s ability to continue his shutout streak would be a boost.
His focus on offense reflects Cuba’s trend away from defense and technique and more fully embracing elimination games.
“I’m Cuban. I come from the great boxing school of Cuba and I showed a lot of difficult skills that made me dangerous,” Perrault said Thursday before the weigh-in ceremony. “With the new generation, we know we have to win by knockout, we have to win with great performances and I’m absolutely willing to do that.
“horsenAnna, you’ll see. “
Weight departing from Orlando: Main event: Antonio Vargas 117.2 VS Winston Guerrero 117.8 for the WBA interim bantamweight championship; co-main event: Wanna Walton 135 VS Erik Hanley ) 133, lightweight; Danier Pero (Daniier Pero) 236.8 VS Walter Burns (Walter Burns) 225.8 for the WBA Continental Heavyweight Championship; Tammara Thibbeault 160 VS Natasha Spence 158.6; Jeovanny Estela 153.6 vs. Jackson Bianco 153.2 for WBA Continental Super Welterweight Championship; Gurgen Hovhannisyan 275 vs. Patrick Mailata 309.4, heavyweight; Hendry Cedeno 142 vs. Luis Hernandez Ramos 146.6, super lightweight; Jamar Pemberton 162.8 vs. Cali Kahlil Mitchell 164, middleweight; Antraeus Ingram 153.2 vs. Freddy Espinosa 156.4, super welterweight; Vladimir Maccayo 134.8 VS Oscar Escandon 138, lightweight; Alex Bray 154 VS Gaston Rios (151.6) for the WBA Continental Americas Super Welterweight Championship.
