Cork-based Perez to feature at Lee’s homecoming

ISMAIKEL PEREZ, awaiting an opponent for his Cork debut on the undercard to the Billy Walsh-James Gorman Irish title fight at Neptune Stadium on Saturday night, has been pencilled in on the undercard to the Andy Lee-Alejandro Gustavo Falliga fight at the University of Limerick Arena a week later.

“The interest in Mike is huge,” his promoter, Gary Hyde, insisted yesterday. “He is certainly going to be busy but that’s the way he wants it.”

Aptly nicknamed “El Rebellio” back in Cuba he has been creating quite a stir since his arrival in Cork just over a week ago.

“I had ‘Boxing News’ on to me asking me why he chose Cork to launch his professional boxing career,” Hyde said. “I asked them why not. I mean boxing — both professional and amateur — is flying in Ireland. There is a great buzz around. The tickets for the Andy Lee show in Limerick on February 2 sold out in less than an hour and there is a big run on the tickets for Neptune Stadium on Saturday night. It looks as if that also will be a sell out.”

While the spotlight will be on the top of the bill bout between Corkman Billy Walsh and the more experienced James Gorman from Belfast for the vacant Irish welterweight crown, Perez will command a fair share of the limelight.

“He is in super shape,” Hyde said. “He is having 13 training sessions a week and is in very high spirits.

“Nicholas Cruz has been the secret to the whole operation. He is still commuting to Cork three times a week but we hope to have him down here permanently in the next few weeks. The fact that they are both Cubans obviously helps a lot.

“But it is the training sessions that are amazing and last week we had him Mike Perez up in the Collins’ gym in Dublin for some sparring sessions against the likes of the former national senior heavyweight champion, Ian Timms, and the unbeaten heavyweight, Scott Belshaw, who will be boxing in Neptune Stadium.”

While “Billy Boy” Walsh will be the main attraction in his bid to add the Irish professional welterweight championship to an impressive array of amateur titles, there will be a big interest in Cork debutante, Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan on Saturday night.

“Spike” — a noted battler from the amateur ranks — has joined the Paschal Collins stable with a big reputation and his connections with “Celtic Pride” should assure him of a profile in the US.

Meanwhile all the Irish amateur champions with the exception of middleweight Darren Sutherland are at a training camp in Donegal in advance of next month’s Olympic qualifying tournament in Pescara, Italy.

Sutherland has three more exams at DCU this week and wants to get those out of the way before getting back to serious business in the ring.

The team to compete in Pescara will round off their preparations at the National Stadium where they will be joined by the English and French teams on February 2 for a week long training camp.

There is no guarantee that boxers who fail to qualify in Pescara will get a second chance at qualification in the second tournament in Athens as they will face a box-off situation to get on to that flight.