By Francisco Hernandez: Rodolfo “Rudy” Perez is not well known by the average casual boxing fan who has usually only heard of Freddie Roach. Rudy Perez is the trainer that formed and polished Marco Antonio Barrera into a great fighter and guided him to legendary status as a world champion. Rudy Perez outsmarted eminent trainer Emanuel Steward, when Perez’s strategy led to the embarrassing defeat of Prince Naseem Hamed at the fists of Barrera.

Rudy Perez also outwitted the celebrated trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain. Beristain’s great pupil Rafael Marquez lost the last two fights of the historic trilogy with Israel Vasquez. Vazquez was not as technical as Marquez but trainer Perez’s strategy gave him an edge.

Rudy Perez has demonstrated that he can actualize the potential in talented fighters. But a good trainer is nothing without a great fighter. A great trainer can have all the knowledge in the world but if the fighters he works with are made of copper, his efforts will not go very far. After Marco Antonio Barrera and Israel Vasquez, Rudy Perez has been a great trainer without a great fighter. But now Rudy Perez has hit gold, Marcos Maidana has decided to put himself under his tutelage after being rejected by Nacho Beristain.

Rudy Perez is the trainer that can guide Maidana to the heights of boxing glory. If Maidana and Perez can form a harmonious team, Maidana will be almost impossible to beat in his prime. Maidana has never really lost a fight, but two fights were robbed from him by the judges and one referee. With Rudy Perez, Maidana can become a complete fighter, gaining the technical skill that he is missing. Maidana can become another invincible Julio Cesar Chavez in the junior welterweight division.

There is only one person that real boxing fans want to watch in the junior welterweight division, and that fighter is Marcos Maidana, he is the only fighter that brings excitement to his fights, that can guarantee action in this division. Without Maidana the other names in the division are outright boring, people think that Bradley vs. Alexander was a flop wait till you see the stinker of Khan vs. Bradley, it will be a sleeper.

If Rudy Perez and Marcos Maidana work out, we could be seeing a future legend in Marcos Maidana.