Perez Defends WBC Title Against Avila at Forum

Raul Perez of Tijuana defends his World Boxing Council bantamweight championship for the third time tonight when he meets sixth-ranked Diego Avila of Mexico City at the Forum.

Perez (45-1-1) won the championship a year ago in Las Vegas with a decision over Miguel Lora of Colombia. Perez, tall and thin, is deceptively strong. He has 30 knockouts. Avila (42-11-1) has 15 knockouts.

The Perez-Avila fight, a 12-rounder, shares the spotlight tonight with the championship bout of the Forum’s $100,000 super-featherweight tournament between Kenny Baysmore of Washington, D.C., and Edward Parker of Houston.

Both are 3-0 in the tournament, each has already won $25,000, and tonight’s winner gets an added $75,000, the loser $10,000. Baysmore is 25-2-1, Parker is 18-3-2.

There’s a clown on the card, too.

Mexican featherweight Jorge Paez, whose parents own a Mexicali circus, works as a part-time clown and acrobat, too. He incorporates his big-top routines into his boxing show, including back flips and sequin-studded boxing trunks that look more like a skirt.

Paez (32-2-2) is the International Boxing Federation featherweight champion, but his title isn’t at stake tonight against Alan Makitoki (31-14-1) of San Jose. Instead, it’s a 10-round lightweight fight.