Perhaps little known to the fans of the island, in part because they left when they were still very young, and for having residence in Ireland, three Cuban boxers have tacked an incredible streak of victories in professional boxing.
The superheavyweight Ismaikel Perez, better known as Mike “The Rebel” Perez, shocked on November 2, the Mecca of boxing, the Madison Square Garden in New York City with his unanimous decision victory over Russian Magomed Abdusalamov, who displayed an impressive record of 18 fights, all won by KO, of which 11 were in the very first round.
The beating Perez gave the Russian giant stature of 1.91 meters sent him to the intensive care ward of St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York, in an induced coma result of a blood clot in his brain.
The Rebel, as Perez wants to be known, abandoned Cuba in 2007 to settle in Cork, Ireland. During his tenure with the amateur boxing he conquered the world junior title in 2004South Korea in the lightweight division and the silver medal in the 2005Moscow World Cup.
Under the direction of Cuban coach Nicholas Cruz Hernandez, Perez remains unbeaten after 20 professional fights, of which has won 12 before the deadline.
With him defected in 2007, Havana’s Alexei Collado and Matanzas Luis Garcia. Collado, 24 years, was world junior champion in 2006, in the flyweight division. Known as “The Hurricane” he has made 15 starts without the shadow of defeat as a professional in the 54 kilograms, of which he has won 14 by knockout.
The one that has seen least action of the three is Garcia, with only 9 fights, all in the super middleweight division (up to168 pounds). With 7 decisions before the deadline, Garcia, world junior champion with Collado has not had the same opportunities as his countrymen. His most impressive victory occurred on November 6, 2010, when he defeated former world champion Byron Mitchell.
In all, the three Cuban-Irish accumulate 44 consecutive victories, 33 of them by KO
