By Kyle Kinder-
On Saturday night at the Armory in Minneapolis, Bryant “Goodfella” Perrella (16-2, 13KO) looks to inch closer to a title shot when he squares off against Domonique Dolton (22-2-1, 13KO) in a ten round clash between two welterweight contenders.
Perrella, a 30 year-old southpaw from Fort Myers, FL, last fought in February when he scored a lopsided unanimous decision over veteran Colombian slugger Breidis Prescott (31-17, 22KO). But what may have looked to spectators like an easy night’s work for Perrella, was in reality, anything but. “I actually hurt my left hand in the second round so I had to take some steam off the left and use it kind of more as a popping shot, more of a scoring blow,” said the 6’1” Perrella. “Basically I just stuck to my right hand, moved to my right laterally, and kept using my jab to dominate.”
The Prescott bout came six months after Perrella dropped a majority decision to former WBA World Welterweight title holder Luis Collazo (39-7, 20KO) on Collazo’s home turf in New York. It was the second career defeat for Perrella, the other coming via stoppage two years prior against former welterweight title challenger Yordenis Ugas (23-4, 11KO). While losses are never part of any fighter’s script, Perrella was intent on extracting the positives from those experiences.
“You know, that’s kind of how it goes,” he said. “When you’re striving for something you’re going to have setbacks…or I just call them learning lessons. It’s brought me to a whole other level as a fighter and a person…it’s made me a tougher individual and better in all aspects.”
Perrella bounced back from both defeats with impressive victories.
And in a year when boxers with blemished records have snatched titles from previously unbeaten fighters (Tony Harrison, Andrew Cancio, Julian Williams, Andy Ruiz), fighters like Perrella have taken notice. “It’s motivating to see other guys doing it [fighters with losses capturing titles],” Perrella said. “It gives me more belief in myself that I can do it and will do it as well. You know, that’s what boxing’s all about…it’s a lot more than just the “O”.”
With regards to Saturday’s contest against Detroit’s Dolton, which will be broadcast on FS1 prior to the night’s main event which will feature welterweights Jamal James (25-1, 12KO) and Antonio “Tony” DeMarco (33-7-1, 24KO), Perrella is well aware that his career trajectory will be greatly influenced by the outcome of this fight. He also knows he’s facing a fighter who needs a win as much as he does.
“Dolton’s been around the block, he’s a known name,” said Perrella. “I’ve watched some film on him, but not too much. I’m not trying to get caught up in what he may try to do. I’m just going to go in and do my own thing. But I’ve got a good general idea of the way he fights and the way he’s going to try and go about things.”
With the stakes as high as ever, Perrella and head trainer Michael Nowling have been working non-stop at Fort Myers’ Syndicate Boxing Club.
“Camp has been amazing, I feel great,” Perrella said. “I’ve been working like an animal, so I’m ready to go…I’m just training around the clock like a well oiled machine and I’m ready to go put this car on the raceway.”
With a cautious eye on the future, he added, “Obviously, after this fight, and I can’t look past Domonique Dolton in any way, but I can see myself being in contention at the very least, if not fighting for a title fight by the end of next year.”
And with the PBC flush with welterweight titleists under their promotional banner, that’s certainly a possibility.
