From Juarez to LA to Hoboken: Tragedy of National AAU Champion Isidro Gino Perez
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Nearly 30 years ago, now long forgotten, a televised boxing bout lead to a rare double tragedy. In professional boxing, tragedies tend to get swept under the rug. This is the story of young security guard Gino Isidro Perez.
Perez grew up in Juarez, Mexico, and later moved to Los Angeles, California, with his mother and two sisters. At the age of 16, Perez moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, to live with his cousin, who moved in with his cousin, light heavyweight contender Ramon Ronquello, in West New York, New Jersey. Perez, who did not finish high school, rose up in a gym in Hoboken, New Jersey, to become USA National AAU Golden Gloves amateur champion under manager Al Certo. Light heavyweight contender Ronquello, 18-12-4 with 15 knockouts, is best known for his upset of former World Boxing Association World Light Heavyweight champion Mike Rossman in September 1979 immediately after Rossman lost the title back to Victor Galindez. Ronquello also fought Bobby Cassidy and Michael Spinks. In 1983, 1984, and 1985, Ronquello finished his career going the distance 12 rounds three times with Arturo Diaz for the Mexican Heavyweight title at 183 to 184 pounds, losing the first title bout, and drawing the next two.
Perez went pro at super featherweight in October 1977 with a four round decision win over Danny Daniels at the Recreation Center in West New York. Perez started his career 6-3-3, losing a 10 round majority decision in October 1979 at The Recreation center to world ranked Vilomar Fernandez, best known for his televised 10 round decision upset of Alexis Arguello in his previous fight.
On February 26, 1981, Isidro Gino Perez stopped 2-0-1 Fred Bowman in the sixth round of a brutal battle at Bally’s Park Place Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Bowman slipped into a coma after the bout, and died a year later on February 23, 1982, without ever waking up. It is often said when a fighter causes a fatality, he is never the same fighter. From Sugar Ray Robinson to Emile Griffith, from Wilford Scypion to Ray Mancini, from George Khalid Jones to Sergey Kovalev, it is hard to measure what impact causing a fatality, while not intentional, had on these great fighters during their careers.
After losing to Fernandez, Perez went undefeated at lightweight and super lightweight in his next nine bouts, eight wins, and one draw with veteran Kelvin Lampkin, who owned a win over Nico Perez. The streak included a win over 16-3 two-time world title challenger Pat Ford of Guyana, the last time Ford would be beaten. Perez was impressive enough at that point in his career between 1979 and 1983, including the fatal TKO win over Fred Bowman, to wind up in a televised bout with 11-1 Juan Ramon “Bambino” Cruz of the Bronx at the Felt Forum in New York, on September 03, 1983.
Perez came off the canvas twice, but was knocked out by Cruz after a knockdown in the seventh round. Manager Al Certo tried to climb into the ring to stop it just before the final blow which put Cruz down and out on his back in a corner. Cruz was able to stand up, walk around the ring, and congratulate Cruz. However, like his foe Bowman, Perez ironically subsequently collapsed in his own corner. He was carried out of the ring on a stretcher still conscious, but slipped into a coma while being put into the waiting ambulance, and died six days later, on October 6, 1983, at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City. The Perez tragedy was subsequently overshadowed by the Billy Collins Jr. versus Luis Resto controversial tampered gloves 10 round No Contest televised bout, with trainer Panama Lewis in the Resto corner, at Madison Square Garden on June 16, 1984, which caused enough eye damage to end the career of the 14-0 Collins.
In the Perez bout, the ring commentators were hyping Cruz on the way and putting Perez down. Despite this, the game Perez was ahead on two of the three scorecards of the judges at the time the Cruz bout ended. Certo was concerned after the fifth round, in which Perez took too many punches in the manager’s view, but when Perez won the sixth, Certo let the bout run. Perez was in control in the seventh until he got knocked down. He got up and told the referee he was okay, and when the referee waved the bout on, Perez wobbled on unsteady legs. Certo moved to climb inside the ring ropes to immediately stop the bout, but intervened too late to stop the knockout in an instant.
Perez was a fighter, like Rocky Marciano, who gave it his all and never took a backward step. The referee in Perez’ final bout was 52 pro bout heavyweight veteran Charley “The Bayonne Bomber” Norkus, best known for his 10 round decision upset over former one heavyweight contender Roland LaStarza, and his 10 round decision losses to former world champions Willie Pastrano, Ezzard Charles, and Archie Moore. Norkus had done a competent job of refereeing in the Cruz versus Perez bout, as Perez did get up and tell Norkus he was okay, before the end. Norkus, best known as a referee at Felt Forum and Long Island Arena, refereed between 1975 and 1988. His final refereed bout, a four round TKO win by heavyweight contender Renaldo Snipes over Leonel Washington at Felt Forum on December 15, 1988, was voted as the Ring Magazine Most Fun Fight in 1988. Norkus, a native of Port Washington, New York, died on May 22, 1996 at age 67, 13 years after the Perez tragedy.
Cruz, never the same fighter after knocking out Perez, went 5-4 after the Perez tragedy over the remaining nine years of his career, was knocked out three times, and finished is career 17-5 with 15 knockouts. After getting knocked out in the second round at Atlantic City’s Trump Taj Mahal Resort and Casino by 26-1 future NABF and International Boxing Federation World Super Lightweight champion Charles Murray on December 5, 1992, Cruz retired.
Besides Perez, manager Al Certo, also handled middleweight contender Mustafa Hamsho, and junior welterweight and welterweight world champion Buddy McGirt, light heavyweight contender Rmaon Ronquello, lightweight contender Edwin Viruet (who fought Edwin Rosario and Roberto Duran, and Esteban DeJesus), and his brother welterweight contender Adolpho Viruet (who fought Donald Curry, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, and drew with Luis Resto). Certo stated after the Perez bout “I was there (ringside) It (the end) was terrible. I knew him (Perez) since he was 16 years old. All of his pro fights were with me and part of his amateurs (career). (When Perez got up for the final time after the knockout) I made sure he didn’t hit his head. He said ‘I’m okay, let me up.’ I said ‘Just take it easy.’ I signaled he was okay, and he seemed to be alright. He got up, walked to the other fighter (the other corner) to congratulate him (Cruz, but then) and got dizzy. We put him (Perez) on a stool (in our corner), and the doctor was working on him. He slumped (over), and then lost consciousness when we got him to the ambulance.” Certo passed away on January 10, 2019, not long after surgery for a broken femur. Certo, a 135 pound Golden Gloves champion from Hoboken, New Jersey, who went 9-1 as a pro, was delivered as a baby in Hoboken by Dolly Sinatra, the mother of singer Frank Sinatra.
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