Can Bryant Perrella Correct Course by Claim the “O” from Kevin Zambrano?
When last in the ring, super welterweight boxer Bryant “Goodfella” Perrella (17-3-1, 14 KO’s) was meant to be brought in for sacrificial purposes. In that bout, on April 17, 2021, Goodfella was placed across the ring from one-time WBC 154-pound champion Tony Harrison. Harrison was coming off a highly anticipated rematch and eleventh-round knockout loss to Jermell Charlo. Despite doing considerably more than what was needed to win, Perrella was swindled out of the win by the judges on the scorecards and saddled with a draw. This was an extremely costly ruling as Harrison would have stood as his most commendable victory to date. Regrettably, both the win and the recognition were robbed of him.
ROCKED BY RAMOS
Oddly enough, in the dustup directly before his match with Harrison, Goodfella was bushwhacked by a tenth round TKO loss at the hands of Abel Ramos. This was another heart-crushing defeat due to Perrella dominating the whole fight until he was hit and hurt in the closing moments of the tenth and final round. With roughly 30 seconds on the clock Perrella was floored by a short, neck-cranking left uppercut. Perrella beat the count and resumed fighting only to be put down about ten seconds later by a straight right.
Goodfella once again beat the count but stumbled ever so slightly when performing Jack Reiss’s post knockdown assessment drill. Even though there was less than five seconds on the clock, Reiss waved the bout off. With that crippling ruling, Perrella, 33, was in serious need of a meaningful victory. In the aftermath of the stressful loss to Ramos, Perrella changed trainers and moved up to the next division to fight Harrison. Even though his next opponent, Kevin Salgado Zambrano (14-0, 9 KO’s), is nowhere near as widely recognized as Tony Harrison, he does have a “O” to claim.
A BRIGHTER DAY?
Come April 9, when the two fighters do test their might with one another, it will mark the first time that Zambrano competes in the US. Prior to his match, Zambrano had only fought in his native Mexico. This will also stand as the second fight that Perrella has worked with boxing legend Roy Jones Jr functioning as his chief second.
Even though he obviously didn’t get the nod, their pairing certainly appeared to be very beneficial to Goodfella in the Harrison dustup. Along with being the second outing with Jones Jr in his corner, this is just the second time that Perrella has campaigned at super welterweight. It will be interesting to see how much improved, if any at all, Bryant is in this upcoming duel with Zambrano.
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By: Bakari Simpson
