Perez eyes upset over Dargan

As Angino "The Nightmare" Perez (17-5, 15 KOs) prepares, with his trainer, Javier Centeno, to face Karl "Dynamite" Dargan (16-0, 8 KOs) on Sept. 20 at Foxwoods Resort Casino and live on broadcast NBC Fight Night, he feels no pressure because, as Centeno puts it, "He has nothing to lose." Angino, or Gino as he is known to those closest to him, is a 31 year old junior welterweight who accepted a fight with the undefeated Dargan at lightweight for the Junior NABF Lightweight Title because the pressure would all be on Dargan. According to Centeno, "Gino is the type of guy that always feels the pressure is on the other guy. He has nothing to lose. He is going in against a guy that is undefeated. Gino has some losses on his record. He's the type of fighter that is just going to go out there, do his work and whatever the outcome is, it is."

For the first time in a long time, Perez and his team have adequate time to prepare at Sweatbox Boxing and Fitness in Davie, FL. For his last several fights, Perez had only one to two weeks' notice but, this time, the Miami native has ample time to prepare. He said, "I am managing myself and promoting myself and there have been no good fights offered to me. The fights I have been offered in the past were always on short notice where I didn't have time to train." But this time is different according to Centeno, "At this point in his career, we want to make a run for something so we need to make sure that we strategize. We need to make sure we get at least five to six weeks minimum training camp before each fight. Training camp has been different because we have been able to work our way into a routine. In the past he had no strategy to do anything; his training camp consisted of getting into the gym, skipping rope, hitting the bags, getting in some sparring and that's it. We've been working on his strength, his endurance and his power and we have been sparring in between as well."

With regards to sparring, Perez and Centeno wanted to find sparring partners to emulate Dargan's style. Centeno said, "I watched Dargan's last fight with Flores as well as his previous fight with Chazz McDowell. We know that Dargan is a counter puncher but he can also be very aggressive. We have been trying to get him in the ring with guys that can do both. Gino likes to bang. He likes to get in there but he's getting older and, if he wants to survive in the fight game, he's going to have to adapt a little bit. We are preparing for everything: preparing for if Dargan comes in aggressive and preparing for Dargan being a counter-puncher."