Perez was a successful amateur boxer in Cuba. In 2005, while competing with the Cuban team at a tournament in Liverpool, he caught the eye of Irish boxing promoter Gary Hyde. Hyde later expressed his desire to turn Perez professional, and to do that he had to arrange his defection from Cuba. In December 2007, under cover of darkness, Perez swam offshore from Cuba, to a boat manned by a Mexican cartel. After transferring through two other boats, enduring storms and depleted food and water supplies, Perez eventually reached Mexican soil nine days later. The Cartel then held him there, until they secured final payment from organizer, Gary Hyde. Upon receiving it, Perez was released, allowing him to board a flight to his new home. On 10 January 2008, Perez touched down in Ireland, where he settled in Cork along with fellow Cubans Alexei Acosta and Luis Garcia. Today, he fights under the nickname Mike "The Rebel" Perez, in reference to Cork which is known as the "Rebel County".
Amateur career
Perez had over 400 amateur bouts. In 2004, he won gold at the World Junior Championships in Jeju City, South Korea. The southpaw beat Englishman Danny Price in the semifinals, before defeating Russian fighter Nikolay Pavlyukov 38-16 in the final. Perez later beat fighters such as Kenneth Egan and Constantin Bejenaru, but moved up to 201 lbs and initially struggled against world class competition like Luis Ortiz, who beat him in 2006 to become the Cuban national champion. Perez avenged that loss in the 2007 championships, but lost to Osmay Acosta in that year's final.
On 2 November 2013, he made his HBO debut against hard-hitting prospect Magomed Abdusalomov at Madison Square Garden. Perez won by unanimous decision after a brutally-fought 10 rounds. The fight left Abdusalamov permanently and severely injured after suffering a stroke during surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain. Abdusalamov's family later sued the New York State Athletic Commission due to negligence. The lawsuit ended with a $22 million settlement. Perez's form dipped after the tragic incident, as he drew and lost many of his next fights. He would later reveal that he struggled with alcoholism during this time, to the point of getting into the ring drunk a few times. Perez returned on 18 January 2014 to fight Carlos Takam at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Takam and Perez fought to a majority draw. The fight was shown on HBO on the Jean Pascal vs Lucian Bute under card. Perez then lost a narrow split decision to Bryant Jennings on 26 July 2014, with the judges’ scorecards reading 114-113 and 115-112 for Jennings, and 114-113 for Perez. Referee Harvey Dock controversially deducted a point from Perez in the final round for hitting Jennings on the break. On 22 May 2015 Perez was brutally knocked out by Alexander Povetkin 91 seconds into a WBC heavyweight title eliminator. Following the loss to Povetkin, Perez spent over two years away from the ring, before returning in 2017 as a cruiserweight.
On 6 July, Perez was announced as the final entrant to the cruiserweight World Boxing Super Series.
Perez vs. Briedis
At the Draft Gala, which took place on 8 July in Monte Carlo, Perez was chosen by WBC champion Mairis Briedis as his quarter final opponent. On 22 July, the WBSS announced the fight would take place in Briedis' home country of Latvia at the Riga Arena, Riga, on 30 September 2017. This would be the 8th time Briedis would fight at his hometown arena. Briedis won a scrappy fight, beating Perez by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. Perez was deducted a point in round 3 following an accidental clash of heads. Briedis was also docked a point during round 10 for excessive holding. With the win, Briedis moved on to the semi-finals to face the eventual winner Oleksandr Usyk.
Personal life
Perez resides in Cork, Ireland with his wife Camille.
