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05/11/2004 Archived Entry: "Sparring with Luciano "El Gallo Bravo" Perez"
Sparring with Luciano "El Gallo Bravo" Perez
By Ben Torres
Photos by Juan C. Ayllon
Recently, I had the pleasure of putting on the mitts and getting in the ring with local KO artist Luciano "El Gallo Bravo" Perez. Perez who is (7-0, 6 KOs) fights Manuel Reyes (4-4, 2 KOs) in a light middleweight six rounder this weekend on the undercard of Dominic Pesoli/Main Events co-promotion this Saturday afternoon at the DePaul Athletic Center in Chicago.
Upon meeting Perez, I was immediately impressed with his size for a 147 pound fighter. He has broad shoulders and a very sturdy lower torso which accounts for his punching power. An apparently friendly fellow, Perez joked with this writer about how much he weighed not too long ago. As proof he pulled out his drivers license to show me how far he had come in physical development. Perez weighed over 200 pounds not long ago and as a result of training looks nothing like the man who was on the license.
Watching Perez spar was quiet enjoyable. Many times in sparring the prospect goes through the motions and reserves their energy for the actual bout. While this is understandable in some cases, it was refreshing to see a prospect like Perez, really take it to his partners. I really appreciated Perez's commitment to his punches and the variety he used to confuse his sparring partner. Luciano employed a good mixture of shots to the head and shots to body to get his sparring partner thinking about his attack. Once his sparring partner began to think and anticipate where the punches were coming from Perez strategically used body shots to break his man down and knock him to the canvas. What I noticed during these sessions is that Perez does not seem to waste energy and commits to his punches once he finds his range.
Perez hammers his sparring partner
While he still needs to develop, Perez seems to be fundamentally sound. He bends his knees when he throws his jab, he turns the right hand over, he has good head movement, he leverages himself correctly when he throws the uppercut and he returns to position after he throws any combination. Some areas that will continue to improve is cutting the ring off against a mobile opponent with which a few of his partners, he was beginning to do.
When I placed the mits on to engage in a round of very light combination punching, I hadn't been in the ring in four or five years and was a little concerned about getting buzzed by a stray shot. I didn't have to worry since Perez treated me like real professional, although I occasionally reminded him that I had children who need their daddy.
Once I was in the ring I immediately noticed three things as he began to work the mits. Luciano was deceptively fast even with sixteen ounce gloves, he was extremely accurate and smart with his punches, and obviously the man can crack with the jab and the right hand. He has a lot of snap in punches and by the end of the round my right arm was feeling the brunt of that powerful jab.The session graciously ended and he allowed me to interview him about his upcoming fight.
CZB: How is training going? Do you feel pretty good.
LP: Si, I feel pretty good. I feel real good and ready for the fight.
CZB: What do you know about your opponent?
LP: Not too much, I know that he'll be tough, but I'll be ready.
CZB: With that said, how do you feel you have been progressing in your career?
LP: I'm very happy with how things are going. I thank God for my health and am just very content with how things are progressing.
CZB: Where do you see yourself in terms of your career goals right now?
LP: Hopefully with a blessing from God I hope to become a champion someday. CZB: Assuming all goes well with this fight what are your plans as you progress in the next year or two? Do you plan on going for an minor title?
LP: Well, I don't know what the outcome of the fight will be but if everything goes well we plan to step it up a notch and fight a name opponent in the future. As I move up we plan on stepping up and fighting for a minor title at 147 pounds.
CZB: For boxing fans who haven't seen you fight how would you describe your style?
LP: I see myself as a boxer.
CZB: Could you name some of the sparring partners you've been training with?
LP: I've been sparring with Al Gonzalez and Miguel Hernandez, Freddie Cuevas.
CZB: How were your sparring sessions with Al? Were they real spirited?
LP: A lot of energy, and we learned a lot from each other.
CZB: Any favorite punches?
LP: Jab, straight right and left hook.
CZB: You're pretty muscular, do you lift weights as part of training?
LP: No I just run, jump rope, do the stairs.
CZB: Anything else you want the fans to know?
LP: I just want to say to the fans thank you for your support and with the blessing of God I will show fans what boxing is all about as I continue on.
Replies: 4 Comments on this article
nice writeup. perpez has some skills and he's got potential.
Posted by wilfredo gomez @ 05/17/2004 07:09 PM EST
nice writeup. perpez has some skills and he's got potential.
Posted by wilfredo gomez @ 05/17/2004 07:09 PM EST
I agree. I have seen Luciano fight a few times. Good fighter, good shows overall.
Posted by Fight Fan @ 05/14/2004 03:20 PM EST
Nice article. Nice technical stuff. Good to see Chicago getting back on the boxing scene with a few prospects.
Posted by bigg dogg @ 05/12/2004 03:58 PM EST
