MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Life and death are more immediate to Mike Perez than to most boxers. He escaped Cuba nearly seven years ago, clinging to a boat that could have capsized at any moment on a perilous trip over the lonely ocean.
When Perez’s last opponent, Magomed Abdusalamov, nearly died after their bout at Madison Square Garden in November, the news reduced Perez to tears and soul-searching.
Perez got no joy from the biggest victory of his boxing career. When he should have been celebrating a brutal, tenacious victory by unanimous decision under the New York spotlight, Perez instead waited anxiously as his Russian opponent fought to survive.
Abdusalamov went to the hospital to have his hand checked, but needed emergency surgery for a blood clot in his brain.
