By Ian S Palmer

The Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada is the setting for this Saturday’s (January 18) heavyweight bout between hard-punching Carlos Takam of Cameroon, Africa and Cuban prospect Mike Perez. This 10-round feature is on the undercard of the Jean Pascal vs Lucian Bute all-Canadian light heavyweight showdown and will be aired across America on HBO and on pay-per-view north of the border in Canada.

The undefeated Perez had an excellent amateur career and has successfully made the transition into the pro ranks. The 28-year-old will climb through the ring ropes with a perfect record of 20-0 along with a dozen stoppages to his name. He’s a pretty slick southpaw who has good defensive skills and hand speed to go along with them. He’s also got pretty good power, especially in his left hand. His last bout was in November when he took on Magomed Abdusalamov of Russia in a tough battle.

Perez, who now calls Cork, Ireland his home, threw a lot of accurate punches against his opponent and landed numerous flurries during his unanimous decision win, but he was also the recipient of several big shots too. Unfortunately, Abdusalamov was taken to hospital immediately after the bout and was fighting for his life for several weeks. He pulled through, but his boxing future is definitely now in doubt. Perez turned pro in 2008 and has beaten the likes of Tye Fields, Zack Page, Travis Walker, and Friday Ahunanya.

Takam is another big puncher and he’ll be entering the ring with an impressive record of 29-1 along with 23 Kos. The 33-year-old also had a fine amateur career and fought for his homeland of Cameroon in the Olympics several years ago, back in 2004. He stands 6-foot-2 and usually weighs in over 240 lbs for his bouts, making him a big and strong opponent for Perez to handle. Takam turned pro back in 2005 and most fans won’t be familiar with his list of opponents other than Michael Grant and Frans Botha. He stopped Grant in the eighth round last May and stopped Botha in the 11^th round in 2012.

Perez, at 6-foot-1, has the quicker hands in this bout and he’s also more mobile and keeps himself busy in the ring. He’s probably not going to want to engage in a slugfest with Takam and will be looking to use his boxing skills to fight his way to victory. Basically, he’ll need to fight the same way he did against Abdusalamov.

Just about any heavyweight fight can end suddenly with one or two punches and this one’s no exception. Both men have good knockout power with Takam generally being considered the heavier puncher. But on the flip side of the coin, Perez is regarded as the better boxer. This could come down to the volume of punches thrown by each man as well as their chins. It’ll likely go the distance though with Perez keeping his unbeaten record intact after 10 pretty exciting rounds.