Silver Lining

Lenier Peró can recall idolizing 6-foot-5, Cuban Olympic gold medal boxing greats Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon from as far back as his early childhood.

“Cuba has always had a lot of great fighters like Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon and I looked up to all of them. I started boxing at a very young age. I was 9 years old when I entered the academy. I had my first fight when I was 10 years old,” Peró said. 

“I learned very fast and I became good very soon after I started. I won my first-ever silver medal when I was 10 years old. I had a nice childhood. I came from a humble family that taught me and my brother, Dainier, discipline and respect. It enabled both of us to become Olympians.”

As an amateur, Peró earned gold medals in each of the 2010 Youth Olympics and Youth World Championships, the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games.

“I had over 300 amateur fights. There weren’t many opportunities obviously in the professional ranks, but really I wanted to make my own name for myself and become a big name in Cuba,” said Peró, a 6-4 ½ southpaw who earned the nickname, El Justiciero  (The Vigilante).

“I won several tournaments and awards, especially in the juvenile tournaments. I also went to the 2016 Olympics in Rio. I lost in the quarterfinals, but I believe that overall I had really good results as an amateur.”

‘I will be ready’

Peró’s professional debut in May 2019 was a first-round TKO of 28-fight veteran Maksym Pedyura that preceded six-round unanimous decisions in June and September over Artur Kubiak and Pavel Doroshilov.

Peró fought once in December 2020, his impressive two-knockdown, second-round TKO of Jorge Alejandro Arias earning the WBA Fedalatin heavyweight title. 

Arias of Argentina entered at 9-1-1 (4 KOs), and “El Justiciero’s” lone bout of June 2021 was a first-round knockout of Dumar Carrascal.

“I will keep working and when the opportunity presents itself, I will be ready,” said Peró, who is trained by Bob Santos. “I haven’t been a pro for very long, but I know what abilities I have and just need the opportunity to show what I can do versus the top names in the division.”

Fellow Cuban southpaw Geovany Bruzon was 6-0 (5 KOs) entering by eight-round unanimous decision in January 2022 to Peró, who stopped his next two opponents Hector Perez (May) and Joel Caudle (August) in the third and first round.

On February 11, 2023, Peró took another significant step up in class when he faced Viktor Faust at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Trailing on two of the judges’ scorecards, Peró stunned Ukraine’s Faust with a hard right to the body followed with a left hand that rendered Faust defenseless and out on his feet in the eighth round. Peró pounced on Faust and landed several more unanswered punches, causing referee Rafael Ramos to stop the heavyweight contest at 2:28 of the eighth round of the scheduled 10-round bout.

It was a stunning turn of events, as Faust was controlling the action with his long jab and hard, thudding right hands until the final moments. Faust, who out-landed his opponent 389-183 in total punches, hurt Peró with a sweeping counter left to end the third round that stunned Peró, before he was saved by the bell.

While he was absorbing the heavier shots, Peró remained committed to Faust’s body, landing 51 body shots throughout the bout, even as he fought off his back foot and Faust continuously advanced forward.

It all came to a head in the eighth round when Peró caught Faust with a right to the body and left to the head that hurt him so badly he stopped fighting and turned his back on his opponent.

“It was a very difficult fight,” Peró said in the ring afterward. “He’s a great fighter, so I started to build up momentum and started to hit him and then we finally came ahead in the final round. Since the first round, I was trying to find his liver, trying to go to his body. His punches weren’t that powerful, so I kept working and then found that final shot. This is pro boxing, and you can’t turn your back on anyone. You can’t turn your back, and I didn’t and I took advantage.”