Yonnhy Perez was trailing badly in the last round against South African Silence Mbuza, before a hostile crowd in Johannesburg, when he began thinking about his wife and two young sons."I remembered my kids back in Colombia and all the needs that my family has. I went out there with all my faith and trust in my preparation," said Perez, who lives and trains in Sante Fe Springs, Calif., away from his family.
"What I remember the most going into the 12th round was knowing that it was a very difficult fight for me going throughout the first 11. It was a very close fight," said the 30-year-old fighter. "I asked God to help me. I asked God for strength. For he was the only one who knew how hard I had worked to get to that point, how tough it was to get to that opportunity."
Perez took full advantage, dropping Mbuza once before a follow-up flurry forced referee Kenny Chevalier to stop their bout at 1:06 of the final round. It was Perez's 14th knockout, and his 19th victory without a loss.
"My motivation is to let my kids know that being in a professional sport is the cleanest way to have a decent life," said Perez. "I have sacrificed a lot for them so they can have a better life in Colombia. So I was thrilled that I was able to beat Mabuza in South Africa."
Perez set himself up for Saturday night's clash of 118-pounders, when he will take aim at the IBF bantamweight belt owned by Joseph Agbeko (27-1, 22 knockouts) at Treasure Island Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
Perez is facing another African in Abgeko, who is from Accra, Ghana. Abgeko has won six straight, including three by knockout.
"I understand that [Agbeko's] probably not like Silence Mabuza, but he's probably returning to his African roots," said Perez. "I've seen how all the fighters are from Africa, I've also fought a lot of them in the amateurs. I know how they fight."Agbeko is riding the momentum of July's 12-round, unanimous decision victory over Armenian-born southpaw Vic "Raging Bull" Darchinyan of Austrailia, who rose to challenge Agbeko from 115 pounds, where he was WBC, WBA and IBF super flyweight champion.
"Yonnhy Perez wants to beat me. He's a very good, undefeated fighter. I love when I'm fighting people like that," said Agbeko, 29.
"People want to think that nobody can defeat [undefeated boxers] because they've won all their fights," said Agbeko. "I love it when it comes to that because I always want to do something that people think nobody can do."
Perez, however, is confident of victory after having witnessed Agbeko-Darchinyan from ringside, saying, "it would have been an embarrassment if he didn't beat Vic Darchinyan with ease, because Vic was a guy moving up in weight from 115 to 118."
Perez was not impressed by Agbeko, adding, "I'm going to keep all of his weaknesses and reserve those for myself, but we'll try to expose them on Oct. 31."
Perez became incensed during a recent media conference call when Agbeko predicted a knockout.
"I don't want to make a prediction of my own, but as far as what Agbeko said coming into this fight and predicting a knockout, it's OK. That's why I live in this country, there's freedom of speech. He can say whatever he wants," said Perez, who began his professional career at the age of 26, stopping Steve Lozoya in July of 2005.
"He's not facing a nobody, he's fighting a real, future champion," said Perez. "He's not fighting his wife, he's fighting a real man. But if he says that he's going to deliver, that's great. I'm ready for any type of battle to happen in the ring ...
"I've traveled to Africa, and I know how the fighters of that continent are. I know they can talk more than what they can actually do in the ring. So [Agbeko] shouldn't spit up in the air because all that's going to do is fall right on back on his face."
