Alfredo Pérez Took Regional Flyweight Gold to the Montreal
Alfredo Pérez won flyweight gold at the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo. The Venezuelan amateur followed that achievement with Pan American bronze and a quarterfinal appearance at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
Regional championship results
Born Alfredo A. Pérez Sánchez in Barquisimeto, Lara, on November 2, 1951, he competed in the 51-kilogram flyweight division. His 1974 regional title was followed by a bronze medal at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City.
Montreal 1976
Pérez opened his Olympic campaign with a decision over Mexico’s Ernesto Ríos on July 18. He advanced by walkover against Egypt’s Said El-Ashry, then defeated Bulgaria’s Georgi Kostadinov by decision on July 23.
Poland’s Leszek Błażyński ended his run in the July 27 quarterfinals, winning by decision. Pérez finished tied for fifth, while Błażyński went on to take bronze. The Montreal results completed a three-year sequence of major international appearances for the Venezuelan flyweight.
Nicknamed “el Pupilo,” Pérez competed in a Montreal flyweight field of twenty-six boxers from twenty-six countries. The event took place at Aréna Maurice-Richard. His quarterfinal opponent Błażyński subsequently lost to American Leo Randolph, the eventual champion. Pérez therefore finished alongside the other three quarterfinalists in fifth place, one contested victory short of reaching the medal rounds.
Sources
- Olympedia: Pérez’s identity and regional medals
- Olympedia: Montreal 1976 flyweight bracket and dated results
