Darleys Gregorio Pérez Ballesta (born September 14, 1983) is a Colombian professional boxer who held the WBA lightweight title in 2015. As an amateur he represented Colombia at the 2008 Summer Olympics as a lightweight.
Amateur career At the South American Games 2006 he won the gold medal vs Éverton Lopes (13:11). At the PanAm Games 2007 he lost at a qualifier (13:16) and the quarterfinals of the main event to world champion Yordenis Ugás (4:8) in a tight contest.
At the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships he upset heavy favourite Olexandr Klyuchko (13:10) and knocked out two successive opponents but lost to Kim Song Guk from North Korea {6:23} in the final. He clinched a berth at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, narrowly losing to eventual gold medallist Aleksei Tishchenko at the quarter-finals stage. He turned professional in 2009 following his Olympic campaign, with an impressive amateur record of 82 wins and 7 losses.
Professional career Darleys Pérez turned professional in 2009, where he competes in the lightweight division. Following a string of knockout victories over domestic Colombian fighters, Pérez debuted in America where he defeated a number of lightweight contenders to earn a shot at the WBA Interim Lightweight title against former super-featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa, also undefeated. In an uninspired yet close contest, Gamboa edged the Colombian over the distance to hand Pérez his first loss in 28 fights. However, Pérez fought for the WBA Interim Lightweight title once again two fights later and won the belt with a decisive points victory over Argenis Lopez, before being promoted to WBA Lightweight champion due to Richar Abril being stripped of his title in 2015. Pérez' first defence of the WBA belt came against tough underdog Anthony Crolla in Manchester, where Crolla sought to win the world title following a life-threatening injury sustained in an incursion with burglars the previous Christmas. In a competitive yet controversial bout, many thought Crolla had done enough to secure a decision victory but Pérez was fortunate to come away from Manchester with a draw on the cards. A rematch subsequently followed in Manchester, during which Crolla upset Pérez by knocking him out with a crisp body punch in the 5th round, taking the Colombian's WBA belt in the process. Pérez followed up the second loss of his career with a knockout win over domestic rival Ubadel Soto in Colombia to take his record to 33 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes43LossJuan NarvaezRTD8 (10)Feb 17, 202442Loss34–6–2Brayan SantanderUD8Jan 20, 202441Loss34–5–2Shakhram GiyasovKO1 (10), Aug 24, 201940Win34–4–2Felipe LaresKO7 (8), Nov 22, 201839Loss33–4–2Maxim DadashevTKO10 (10), Jun 9, 201838Loss33–3–2Luke CampbellTKO9 (12), Apr 29, 201737Draw33–2–2Maurice HookerSD10Nov 19, 201636Win33–2–1Ubadel SotoKO2 (8)May 20, 201635Loss32–2–1Anthony CrollaKO5 (12), Nov 21, 201534Draw32–1–1Anthony CrollaMD12Jul 18, 201533Win32–1Jonathan MaiceloUD12Jan 9, 201532Win31–1Jaider ParraKO6 (12), Oct 24, 201431Win30–1Argenis LopezUD12Jun 28, 201430Win29–1Dunis LinanUD8Dec 6, 201329Loss28–1Yuriorkis GamboaUD12Jun 8, 201328Win28–0Julio CamanoUD8Mar 9, 201327Win27–0Kelly FigueroaUD8Nov 30, 201226Win26–0Bahodir MamadjonovSD10Aug 10, 201225Win25–0Alain HernandezKO2 (8), Apr 6, 201224Win24–0Fernando TrejoUD8Dec 2, 201123Win23–0Oscar MezaRTD6 (10), Sep 30, 201122Win22–0Baudel CardenasKO1 (6), Jul 22, 201121Win21–0Wilson AlcorroTKO7 (10), Jun 24, 201120Win20–0Jose ReyesUD8Apr 29, 201119Win19–0Alejandro HerediaUD10Feb 5, 201118Win18–0Ramesis GilTKO4 (8), Dec 10, 201017Win17–0Ernesto Vasquez BatiojaTKO1 (10), Oct 30, 201016Win16–0 Edixon GarciaUD10Oct 1, 201015Win15–0Erwin RomeroKO2 (8), Jun 25, 201014Win14–0Pascual SalgadoTKO5 (8)Mar 5, 201013Win13–0Edinson TeheranUD8Feb 12, 201012Win12–0Edwin OrtizKO1 (8), Dec 17, 200911Win11–0Patricio Antonio PedreroTKO1 (11), Nov 19, 200910Win10–0Jose MirandaTKO2 (8), Oct 23, 20099Win9–0Evaristo TordecillaTKO1 (8), Sep 12, 20098Win8–0Reynaldo EsquiviaTKO1 (8), Aug 21, 20097Win7–0Dunis LinanUD6Jun 20, 20096Win6–0Samir TorresTKO4 (8), May 29, 20095Win5–0Devinson GuerraTKO4 (8), May 15, 20094Win4–0Luis DiazKO1 (6), Apr 3, 20093Win3–0Daniel MercadoKO2 (4), Mar 20, 20092Win2–0Miguel PachecoKO2 (4)Mar 6, 20091Win1–0Edwin OrtizKO2 (4), Feb 14, 2009
See also List of world lightweight boxing champions
References
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