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After a heartbreaking loss to Danny Garcia last March 15th, Mauricio Herrera gets another shot at a world title when he challenges interim WBA Light Welterweight champion Johan Perez in the Canelo-Lara undercard on July 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada USA.
Man on A Mission
Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya says that Mauricio Herrera is a man “on a mission” following his controversial loss to Danny Garcia earlier this year.
De La Hoya says Herrera’s style is “suited for any fight that he’s in.” He adds that Mauricio can “fight you or box you and that mentally he’s going to beat you no matter what it takes.” De La Hoya points out to Herrera’s decision win over Ruslan Provodnikov and the mental toughness he showed against Danny Garcia, a fight which he agrees Herrera should have won.
According to De La Hoya, Herrera is in “great shape” and is ready to give the fans “an exciting fight” on July 12th.
Fight of His Career
Herrera fought the fight of his career against the heavily favored Danny Garcia last March in Puerto Rico. Many fight observers believed that Herrera did enough to upset Garcia, but the judges awarded the “hometown” fighter the majority decision win.
Although Herrera admits that “it was frustrating for a while” and that “he is not over it”, he said that he “wasn’t surprised at that decision” because “nobody expected him to do well” in the Garcia fight. Herrera adds that his mentality is just “to keep going, keep moving forward and keep proving himself.”
The fight against Perez is no different.
Going for the Knockout
Herrera believes that he may need a knockout to beat Perez considering how his last fight was scored by the judges. Herrera knows that he can “box Perez all day” but he thinks that he needs to “switch it up at times” and “try to look for a stoppage of some kind” to really secure the belt this time around.
He admits that he is not a “power puncher” but says that “that doesn’t mean that he can’t stop a fighter.” Herrera’s record is 20-4 with 7KOs.
No Pushover
But Johan Perez is no pushover. The Venezuelan slugger is coming off a 10 round KO win over Fernando Monte De Oca last May. Perez won the vacant title last November in a majority decision win over the previously unbeaten former world lightweight champion Paul Spadafora. He has won four straight matches since dropping a seventh round technical decision to Juan Pablo Cano in July 2012. Aside from Spadafora, Perez has beaten former champion Steve Forbes and Japanese Yoshihiro Kamegai.
Aside from the fact that 13 of Perez’s 19 wins have come via knockout, he is very tall for a light welterweight at 5-11. Against Herrera, he will be enjoying a four inch height advantage. Perez says that he is looking forward to giving the fans a great fight and that a victory over Herrera will show the world who he is.
