In a battle of unbeaten heavyweights, Lenier ‘El Justiciero’ Pero 9-0 (6) kept his unblemished record intact with an eighth-round knockout of Viktor Faust 11-1 (7) at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday night.
The fight was the opening bout on Showtime’s telecast of the vacant WBC super featherweight championship between two-weight world champion Rey Vargas and O’Shaquie ‘Ice Water’ Foster.
Cuban southpaw Pero, 30, boxed well in the opening two rounds, landing a variety of shots to the body of Faust and mixing in right hooks and straight lefts upstairs.
But the 30-year-old Ukrainian started to find his range in the third, staggering Pero and outboxing him through much of the middle rounds.
The fight took a dramatic turn in the eighth when a right hook to the body followed by a left hand to the head hurt Faust, who remained on his feet but turned away. Pero didn’t let him off the hook, jumping on his injured opponent and hammering home a volley of shots before referee Rafael Ramos stepped in to call a halt to the contest at the 2:28 mark.
At the time of the stoppage Faust was up 68-65, 67-66 on two cards, while Pero was leading 68-65 on third.
“Since the first round, we were trying to find his liver, trying to go to his body,” Pero said in the ring after the fight. “His punches weren’t that powerful, so we kept working and then we found that final shot.”
Pero addressed the unusual ending to the bout.
“This is pro boxing and you can’t turn your back on anyone,” he said. “You can’t turn your back, and I didn’t, and I took advantage.”
Pero, who is a 2016 Olympian and is currently ranked number six by the WBA, entered the fight full of confidence that he had the tools to get the better of Faust.
“I have the advantage of being the more-complete fighter than him,” Pero told The Ring two days before the fight.
“I can fight from distance and can fight on the inside. I’ve been on the fast track early on in my career, having fought eight and 10 rounds. I have also fought on Showtime as well. I do not have any nerves and I won’t be nervous going into the fight on Saturday.”
Pero was having his first fight under new trainer Bob Santos, who was The Ring’s Fighter of the Year for 2022.
“I am humble. I’m managed well and I have a great trainer in Bob Santos,” Pero said to The Ring.
“I’ve handled pressure well and have been able to overcome obstacles in my life. I look at life and take it one fight at a time. So I look at the fight against Faust as one more win to then look ahead. I continue to grow as a fighter and look to get better with each outing.”
