Lesson learned

By Brett Okamoto

Saturday, May 2, 2009 | 1 a.m.

If the first loss of Alejandro Perez's career taught him anything it was this: Never leave a bout up to the judges.

The 22-year-old Mexican boxer certainly didn't in Friday's WBC USNBC Super Bantamweight title fight against "The Pride of Mexico" Adolfo Landeros at South Point Hotel & Casino, knocking him to the canvas three times in a fight referee Victor Drakulich eventually stopped before the 10th round.

For Perez, the victory was sweet revenge for an earlier meeting between the two. Landeros handed Perez the only loss of his professional career last June, a split decision that Perez says he did not agree with.

"This was my second time facing him. Last time I lost my undefeated record to him in Chicago," Perez said. "This time around there was no way I could leave it to the judges. That last fight, I know I did enough to win, so this one everyone expected me to be the winner. And that's what I did."

Had the fight even gone the distance, Perez (14-1-1, 9 KOs) did everything he could to make it an easy decision for the judges.

Perez scored a quick knockdown in the first round from a body shot out of nowhere that could have been considered lucky. But when he knocked Landeros (19-12-1, 9 KOs) down again in the second round, there was no doubt Perez had already hurt the former IBA featherweight champion.

"To be honest, it didn't surprise me," Perez said of the two early knockdowns. "I went in there thinking I wanted to do my work and if the knockout came, then good.

“My plan was to outbox him, work the body and as the rounds progressed. I knew the body work would take a toll on him. Once you're in there though, your adrenaline picks up and you just want to go toe-to-toe with him."

Although there's no arguing Perez was the better fighter Friday, Landeros didn't just hand over the victory.

Even after Perez knocked him down again in the seventh round with a straight right hand, Landeros battled back courageously, pinning Perez up against the ropes and landing power combinations of his own.

Perez acknowledged as much, signaling to his badly swollen eyes after the fight, saying: "Unfortunately, I did get caught with a few really good shots as you can see by my face. These are the outcomes of those punches."

Overall though, Perez was fairly dominant throughout all nine rounds. While Landeros was successful in outmuscling him at times and cornering him in the ring, Perez was the more creative fighter, working behind his jab and connecting often with timely combinations. It seemed he was hitting on so many different targets that twice Landeros made a case to the referee, accusing Perez of illegal shots to the back of his head. Drakulich didn't buy it.

"As the fight progressed, I knew it," Perez said. "I knew it inside me that all those shots were going to eventually take a toll on him and they did. That's what made the fight."

Lightweight — Angel Flores (10-3-0, 3 KOs) vs. Rodolfo Armenta (11-1-0, 2 KOs): One punch defined the fight, as Armenta was able to catch Flores with a straight right in the fourth round that opened a nasty cut above Flores' right eye.

Flores, the only Las Vegas resident on Friday's card, finished the round but Jay Nady stopped the fight after his corner couldn't patch up the eye enough to start the fifth.

Armenta made a few good connections in the first round as well, relying mostly on his uppercut to dictate the fight. Flores responded by staying low after the first round, making Armenta miss and evening the score before suffering the cut.

Super Lightweight — Dean Byrne (11-0, 4 KOs) vs. Jose Reynoso (10-2-1, 1 KO): Byrne looked good early, knocking down Reynoso three times in the first four rounds to jump to an early lead on the scorecards and appeared ready for the fifth knockout win of his career.

But Reynoso wised up in the second half of the fight, taking advantage of Byrne's aggressiveness and protecting his left side. Byrnes was even too aggressive at times, leaving himself open for shots that got him in trouble during a few rounds but he managed to keep himself off the mat. That ended up being the difference, as two judges awarded Byrnes the win 76-73 while the final one scored it 77-72.

Welterweight — Christopher Rizo (4-0, 2 KOs) vs. Michael Lynks (7-10-2, 2 KO): Rizo stayed perfect with an easy unanimous decision victory over Lynks.

A straight jab in the second round turned Lynks' nose into a running faucet the rest of the fight, as all three of the final rounds ended with his face covered in blood.

Instead of using his hands to protect himself, Lynks tried to rely on his speed to maneuver himself out of trouble. Too often, he wasn't fast enough. All three judges awarded each of the four rounds to the southpaw Rizo.

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].