When junior middleweight Abel “Truth Serum” Perry received word that he’d be facing Antonio Margarito May 26, the Colorado City native was confident that a victory over the former three-time welterweight champion would lead to the kind of opportunity he’s dreamed of since day one.
With many ups and downs during his 6 ½ year pro career, Perry, 18-5 (9 KO’s), won five straight bouts and believed that May 26 would be his sixth. This was until Margarito injured his Achilles 12 days before fight night and the bout was postponed until July.
“Everything was rescheduled for July 7 to my knowledge and I actually saw on the internet that the fight was going to take place on the 21st,” said Perry. “To be honest, I assumed he wasn’t training because he looked heavy in recent photos.”
He also viewed the delay as something that would only benefit him leading up to the fight of his life.
“I was actually grateful for the postponement because many of my fights came on short notice or without a proper training camp. For the Margarito bout, my manager Bobby Dobbs sent me to a training camp in Big Bear Lake, CA where I was working with Carson Jones and Gennady Golovkin. I was sparring world class guys and the extra time would only give me a bigger advantage. This was the perfect situation.”
To his unpleasant surprise, Margarito announced his retirement on June 8, canceling the fight altogether while leaving Perry without the career-changing opportunity.
“It left a sour taste in my mouth. I felt wronged because they changed the date multiple times and I committed so much time preparing for this fight, while I could’ve been looking for another fight. Everybody was writing me off and they expected Margarito to run right through me. If he’s retiring because he doesn’t have what it takes to fight top guys any longer and I’m supposedly a “safe opponent,” why not face me in a farewell fight?”
“This was a major letdown and Margarito handled this like anything but a professional,” stated Dobbs. “My fighter was in camp getting ready to pull off the upset, only for Margarito to cancel the bout after agreeing to reschedule it. I understand that he’s taken a ton of punishment during his career and didn’t want to fight again, but since this is the case, why even sign to face Abel?”
While Dobbs explores other suitable options, Perry will remain at Big Bear as a sparring partner for Jones and Golovkin.
