Log In

Reset Password

Perozzi didn’t stick to game plan Rego

Photo by Mark TatemTeresa Perozzi and Tori Nelson slug it out during Saturday’s title unification bout at the Southampton Fairmont which was declared a draw.

Teresa Perozzi was her own worst enemy in her WBA and WBC middleweight unification championship bout with Tori Nelson, according to veteran trainer Allen (Forty) Rego.Saturday night’s ten-round thriller at Fairmont Southampton ended in a majority draw, enabling Perozzi to retain her WBA belt while the WBC crown remains vacant.However, Rego believes the local southpaw would have easily won it all had she “stuck to the game plan” mapped out by her corner.“This would’ve been an easy fight if Teresa would’ve stuck to the game plan that Troy Darrell (coach) had for her,” Rego said.“She was in the best shape I’ve ever seen her in and she boxed better than I have ever seen her box before. But she strayed away from the game plan and she let this girl (Nelson) get her into a brawl.“If Teresa would’ve done what Troy wanted her to do between the third and the fifth rounds this girl would’ve been so frustrated that she would have come running and then Teresa would’ve had a chance to do exactly what she wanted to do.“But she let this girl get her into a brawl and the girl was tying her up and hitting her with a lot of one hand punches and then she started taking shots to the head.“It wasn’t necessary for Teresa to get into a brawl because it was a big ring and Troy wanted her to be out there popping and moving, using the right hand jab, hooking off it, coming with the up shot and then turning on the left hand . . . go to the body and get on your bike and don’t let that girl tie you up or get into a brawl or anything like that.“But Teresa didn’t stick to the game plan and I feel she could’ve stopped her (Nelson) between the fifth and eight rounds if she didn’t get caught up.“Around the sixth, seventh and eighth rounds Teresa was all right but she let the girl back in the fight every so often. Every time Teresa hit the girl with the jab, the girl stopped and didn’t know what to do off that jab. But Teresa went right along in and let her mix it up.”Perozzi (8-4-2) admitted getting caught up in the heat of the moment undermined her bid to unify the WBA and WBC middleweight titles.“I didn’t stick to the plan quite as well as I’d hoped,” she said. “I didn’t want to get caught up in that ugly brawling.“Looking back there are some things I could’ve and should’ve done that would have made things more convincing in the judges’ eyes.”While impressed with the adjustments Perozzi has made to her fighting technique, Rego reckoned there was still room for improvement.“Teresa needs to become versatile and if she meets somebody that’s a boxer she needs to fight them and if she meets somebody that’s a fighter she needs to be able to box them,” he said.“That’s what she needs to do because they (other contenders) are going to come now and when they do she needs to be ready.“They are talking about a return fight with this girl (Nelson) and that’s okay. But Teresa doesn’t have to give this girl a return match. She can go with anyone but whoever she goes with she needs to stick to the plans Troy has got for her.”