Bryant Perrella grateful to land Tony Harrison fight after KO loss

Bryant Perrella is grateful that he landed a fight with Tony Harrison immediately after his knockout loss to Abel Ramos.

Bryant Perrella isn’t inclined to look backward, particularly because of what’s in front of him.

Perrella is coming off an enormous disappointment, a knockout loss against Abel Ramos at 147 pounds that ended with one second remaining in the fight in February of last year. The Floridian was leading on all three cards at the time.

How does a fighter get past that?

Well, you get a new, high-profile team, you get another big fight and you keep your focus on the task at hand, which is a meeting at 154 pounds with former champion Tony Harrison on April 17 in Los Angeles (Fox).

“A victory changes my career trajectory a lot,” Perrella told Boxing Junkie. “Things will be going up and up from there. I’ll be highly ranked, I’ll have everything. It will help bring me to the next level, close to a world title.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09286olOZE8&t=2310s

Perrella (17-3, 14 KOs) was asked about the crushing loss to Ramos, which reminded everyone of Meldrick Taylor’s heart-breaking loss to Julio Cesar Chavez in their first fight. And he didn’t have much to say other than he didn’t feel like himself. He said he experienced fatigue that normally wouldn’t follow a good training camp, which is how he described his preparation for the fight.

Maybe the weight had something do with it. The 32-year-old said he had to work harder than ever to make 147, which is why he has moved up to 154 for the fight with Harrison.

He also ended up with a new team, headed by future Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr.

“I was on a quest for knowledge,” said Perrella, who lives in Fort Myers. “I wanted to learn, wanted to grow. I had a good performance against Ramos but I wasn’t really 100 percent who I truly am due to things that were overlooked, weight cutting, things of that nature.

“… I rented an RV and went on a sparring tour. I went to Roy Jones’ gym [in Pensacola, Fla.]. I sparred guys there. Roy was impressed. And I just stayed in Pensacola.”

The chemistry between fighter and trainer, he said, couldn’t be better.

“I fell in love with how much I was learning,” he said. “It’s been a whole new world for me. I was broken down and reconstructed. That’s what Roy has done. And I’m continuing to grow.”

The fact he landed the fight with Harrison (28-3, 21 KOs) also was an opportunity for which he’s grateful. He didn’t know what the future held after the setback against Ramos, which could’ve relegated him to a transition fight against a journeyman.

Instead, he’ll tangle with a former junior middleweight titleholder with a big name and an abundance of ability. If he can pull off an upset – Harrison is favored – no one will be talking about the loss to Ramos.

“I’m super grateful,” he said. “It’s a blessing, really amazing. I wanted to stay the course [after the loss to Ramos], stay focused, stay in the gym. I was still motivated, still confident, still had the right mindset.

“And then, boom!, this [fight] just landed. Perfect.”

[lawrence-related id=6284,6231]

Bryant Perrella grateful to land Tony Harrison fight after KO loss

Bryant Perrella is grateful that he landed a fight with Tony Harrison immediately after his knockout loss to Abel Ramos.

Bryant Perrella isn’t inclined to look backward, particularly because of what’s in front of him.

Perrella is coming off an enormous disappointment, a knockout loss against Abel Ramos at 147 pounds that ended with one second remaining in the fight in February of last year. The Floridian was leading on all three cards at the time.

How does a fighter get past that?

Well, you get a new, high-profile team, you get another big fight and you keep your focus on the task at hand, which is a meeting at 154 pounds with former champion Tony Harrison on April 17 in Los Angeles (Fox).

“A victory changes my career trajectory a lot,” Perrella told Boxing Junkie. “Things will be going up and up from there. I’ll be highly ranked, I’ll have everything. It will help bring me to the next level, close to a world title.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09286olOZE8&t=2310s

Perrella (17-3, 14 KOs) was asked about the crushing loss to Ramos, which reminded everyone of Meldrick Taylor’s heart-breaking loss to Julio Cesar Chavez in their first fight. And he didn’t have much to say other than he didn’t feel like himself. He said he experienced fatigue that normally wouldn’t follow a good training camp, which is how he described his preparation for the fight.

Maybe the weight had something do with it. The 32-year-old said he had to work harder than ever to make 147, which is why he has moved up to 154 for the fight with Harrison.

He also ended up with a new team, headed by future Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr.

“I was on a quest for knowledge,” said Perrella, who lives in Fort Myers. “I wanted to learn, wanted to grow. I had a good performance against Ramos but I wasn’t really 100 percent who I truly am due to things that were overlooked, weight cutting, things of that nature.

“… I rented an RV and went on a sparring tour. I went to Roy Jones’ gym [in Pensacola, Fla.]. I sparred guys there. Roy was impressed. And I just stayed in Pensacola.”

The chemistry between fighter and trainer, he said, couldn’t be better.

“I fell in love with how much I was learning,” he said. “It’s been a whole new world for me. I was broken down and reconstructed. That’s what Roy has done. And I’m continuing to grow.”

The fact he landed the fight with Harrison (28-3, 21 KOs) also was an opportunity for which he’s grateful. He didn’t know what the future held after the setback against Ramos, which could’ve relegated him to a transition fight against a journeyman.

Instead, he’ll tangle with a former junior middleweight titleholder with a big name and an abundance of ability. If he can pull off an upset – Harrison is favored – no one will be talking about the loss to Ramos.

“I’m super grateful,” he said. “It’s a blessing, really amazing. I wanted to stay the course [after the loss to Ramos], stay focused, stay in the gym. I was still motivated, still confident, still had the right mindset.

“And then, boom!, this [fight] just landed. Perfect.”

[lawrence-related id=6284,6231]