By Pattee Mak | March 29, 2011
Jose “El Gallo” Rivera (39-6-1, 24KO’S) who currently resides in Worcester, Massachusetts is the main event in an upcoming fight against middleweight Abel Perry (13-4-0, 5KO’s) from Colorado Springs, Colorado on April 9, 2011 at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts. This event is being promoted by Paxton Promotions.
Q. How excited you must feel to be fighting once again in the place you call home, Worcester, Massachusetts. The last time you stepped in the ring and fought was back in 2008 against Clarence Taylor. You won by unanimous decision. Why such a long break from getting into the ring?
A. I just got to the point where I was mentally drained. Personal problems, boxing team problems, and felt that all my hard work and sacrifices was not being appreciated and I felt like I was taken for granted.
Q. What do you know about your opponent, Abel Perry?
A. I hear he is a tough and well-conditioned fighter that comes to fight. I know he is 5 ft, 11 inches tall and has a good size reach advantage over me that I have to overcome.
Q. What is everyone anticipating from you on April 9, 2011?
A. I am going to assume everyone is anticipating a victory. I know I do.
Q. Who currently is your trainer?
A. My head trainer is Jimbo Isperduli and my second is Sean Fitzgerald.
Q. How long have you been training for this fight?
A. I started training hard in January, but have been in the gym anticipating and waiting to hear about a fight in December.
Q. November 7, 1992 was your first fight against Francisco Mercedes in Belmont, New Hampshire. You were only 19 years old. Is your training different now that you are 37 years old?
A. Oh yeah, very different, but I train with the same intensity, dedication, motivation and desire to succeed.
Q. “El Gallo” is your ring name. I know from Spanish to English it means “The Rooster”. Can you tell me how this came about?
A. When I was a kid living in Puerto Rico we use to train and fight roosters. To make a long story short I was inspired by one of our champion roosters. They fight to the death and I bring the same mentality into the ring. Win, lose or draw I give everything I have when I am in the ring.
Q. Paxton Promotions is promoting this event. Have you worked with them in the past?
A. Yes, I have worked with Jimbo in the past, but not with Paxton Promotions. This will be my first fight under Paxton Promotion.
Q. Who would you eventually like to fight in your division?
A. Right now I am not even sure what weight class I will be campaigning at. Either middleweight or go back down to jr middleweight. My main focus right now is on Abel Perry, see how this fight goes and then decide what is next.
Q. Who helped you along with the way or inspired you the most while you were a boxer?
A. I moved to Worcester at sixteen years old and lived on my own. One of my biggest mentors was my amateur trainer Carlos Garcia.
Q. It appears that you held a couple of different titles. Can you tell me about them?
A. I won the welterweight IBO world title in 1997, the welterweight WBA world title in 2003 and the jr middleweight WBA world title in 2006. It is very exciting when you get to fight for a world title, but to win not one but three is a dream come true.
Q. You started your professional boxing career at in 1992. What was your amateur record?
A. My amateur record was 35-10 and I only fought amateur for like three and a half years.
Q. When you are not jumping rope, doing abs or hitting the heavy bag, what else do you like to do in your spare time?
A. I love to spend time with my kids, I enjoy going to the movies, I enjoy dancing Salsa with my wife, and doing speaking engagements across the Country speaking and inspiring kids and young adults.
Q. In Spanish and/or English, what would you like to tell all your fans?
A. I am very grateful to my fans! I appreciate their love and support and I appreciate their loyalty to the sport of boxing.
Thank you so much for this interview. Tickets for the April 9, 2011 event are selling for $30.00 and $50.00 and can be purchased at any FYE Store, www.tickets.com or directly from the Palladium by calling 800-477-6849. Doors open at 6:30 pm and the first bout is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
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As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
