The beautiful thing about boxing is that it allows a fighter the opportunity to literally fight his way into the life he desires. Every day, a new potential champion discovers not only this sport but the way out it represents. Colombian-born lightweight contender Darley Perez, 25-0 (19), who battles Bahodir Mamadjonov, 11-0 (7) at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, CA (on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights”) this weekend, is no exception. However, Perez’s journey began with a slightly different purpose.
“I started boxing at 14 years old. I took it up as a hobby. I liked futbol (soccer). I was an athletic kid,” Perez told Maxboxing.com Monday evening. “One of the things I wanted was to learn how to defend myself. I got picked on in school a lot.”
What started as a way to occupy his time while learning to defend himself turned out to be a latent talent.
“I started at 14 and a year later, I was competing as an amateur at a national level,” said Perez. “When I saw that I could do that, I stuck with it. I kept with it and eventually went to the Olympics.” Continue Reading…
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