BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer

Emin Perry grew up in Tampa, and was a pretty good football player at King High school. As a matter of fact, he was so good, he got a chance to take his game to college, attending Virginia Union University and later Concord University in West Virginia.

But, it wouldn’t be football that would define Perry’s future. It would be martial arts and boxing. Perry said he’s always loved the way boxers moved in the ring.

“I really loved watching Muhammad Ali, because he was so graceful the way he moved. That’s when I thought about getting into boxing, but I didn’t like the idea of being hit, so I took a step back for a minute. I started training in Mu Thai and that got me in shape for boxing.”

Last year at the age of 26, Perry decided to get more serious about boxing. The father of two started doing a lot of running, lifting, and other conditioning exercises.

Perry signed up with USA Boxing, and had five amateur fights, winning them all, and scoring one knockout.

Perry entered the state Golden Gloves Tournament in the heavyweight division, and won three fights in three days to become the Florida Super-Heavyweight Golden Gloves Champion. The tournament was held in Port Charlotte.

Perry, now 27, said he’s anticipating turning pro in boxing and Mu Thai.

“I wish I had the experience to get into the Olympics. I’d love to represent my country, but I just haven’t had enough fights as an amateur.”

Perry has a Mu Thai fight scheduled for May 28th and says after that, he’ll get his corner-man, Ricky Tomlinson, and the rest of his people to decide when to turn professional.