After welterweight David Emanuel Peralta scored a huge upset of former two-division world titleholder Robert Guerrero, winning a 12-round decision on Aug. 27, he did a memorable dance in the ring to celebrate.
And then the man who essentially had been retired from the ring, driving a taxi in his native Argentina before accepting the bout with Guerrero, quit his day job and decided to devote his life full-time to boxing.
Peralta (26-2-1, 14 KOs), 34, even relocated to Miami to train under the guidance of Herman Caicedo, who has been preparing him for his first fight since the career-changing win over Guerrero.
Peralta returns to the ring to face Berlin Abreu in a scheduled 10-round bout on Saturday at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Ringtv.com will stream the card live beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
“I do believe that I belong with the top fighters. I believe that I can beat them all. You will have to knock me out in order to beat me.”
David Emanuel Peralta
“I am very happy for the opportunity to have camp in the United States and with such great champions alongside of me,” Peralta said. “They all have immediately taken me in as one of them and want the best for me and push me to my limit daily.
“There is so much knowledge between all of these fighters in Caicedo Sports and here in camp with Herman Caicedo. Herman is the most professional person I have met in this sport. He has really enhanced my style and tried to fix the details in my style that will give me the vision of what’s to come.”
Caicedo, however, will not be with Peralta in the corner on fight night. That is because Caicedo also trains heavyweight contender Luis “King Kong” Ortiz and will be in Manchester, England, where Ortiz will take on Dave Allen on the Anthony Joshua-Eric Molina undercard on Saturday.
Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz said Peralta will be fine without Caicedo and in the capable hands of trainer Hector Bermudez, who works with other Lewkowicz fighters, including junior featherweight titlist Jonathan Guzman and former junior lightweight titlist Javier Fortuna.
“Peralta is one of a kind,” Lewkowicz said Tuesday. “The only thing he says he needs to know is ‘who is in my corner, because I will do my job.’ This guy is so humble. He makes me feel like I have another Sergio ‘Maravilla’ Martinez.”
Even without Caicedo in the corner, Lewkowicz said it was important for Peralta to fight.
“This fight will keep him busy and active,” Lewkowicz said. “The most important thing for every fighter when you win a big fight is you need to be active so people don’t forget you.”
Abreu (13-1, 11 KOs), 24, of the Dominican Republic, is a good puncher so Lewkowicz deems it “a danger fight, but if Peralta gets past this I am pretty sure he can get a big fight like he deserves. There are too many 147-pounders who need a good challenge, and I believe he would be good for anyone in the top 10, including some of the champions.”
Lewkowicz didn’t mention anyone in particular but said he would match Peralta with “anyone that will have the courage to have him as a challenger. Anyone. I strongly believe he can beat anyone in the top 10, especially now that he is training in Miami with Herman Caicedo.”
Peralta knows a bigger fight will come his way if he takes care of Abreu.
“I need to continue to do my job, which is winning and improving as a fighter,” he said. “No one knew me before the fight with Guerrero, and now people have heard of me, or at least boxing people have. That is a good thing for my family and me.”
“I do believe that I belong with the top fighters,” he added. “I believe that I can beat them all. You will have to knock me out in order to beat me. I am just so excited for this fight and I am looking forward for what my promoter has in store for me. I am prepared with Argentinean pride for every fight.”
The card will also feature an eight-round welterweight bout between former world titlist Kermit Cintron (38-5-2, 29 KOs), 37, of Reading, Pennsylvania, and Rosemberg Gomez (19-5-1, 15 KOs), 30, of Nicaragua.
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