Former Cruiserweight world title challenger Mike Perez 32-3-1 (22 ko’s) returned to action tonight after 9 months out with a tepid 8 round points win over the undefeated Nigerian Franklin Arinze 10-0 (7 Ko’s) on the Wardley v Dubois show at the Co-op live in Manchester. Perez started slow and took 2 sessions to find his range against the limited Arinze, controlling the majority of the action in quick flurries. Through the middle rounds inactivity appeared to hamper Perez with his timing being noticably off, allowing Arinze back into the fight. The closing rounds were an untidy affair with very few significant attacks from either side. Darren Sarginson scored the underwhelming affair 78-74 in a fight that struggled to catch fire. it was the 40 year old Perez first fight since last August when he had to settle for a No contest in another scrappy affair against Christian Fabian Luis. Unfortunately it seems that the once World class cruiserweight and heavyweight is nearing the end if the line.
