Brian Vera

Bryan Lee Vera (born December 28, 1981) is an American professional boxer who fights at super middleweight. He is best known for his memorable and notable victories over then-undefeated Andy Lee in 2008, former world champion Sergio Mora (twice, in 2011 and 2012) and Serhiy Dzinziruk in 2013. Vera currently trains in Cedar Park, Texas.^[1]

Personal

Bryan attended Westwood High School and lettered in football, a sport he had played since a child in Pop Warner. His brother, Gilbert "Boogie" Vera is also a professional boxer^[2][3] and his father was a two-time IBA champion in the heavyweight division.^[4]

Amateur career

Vera's amateur career saw him clash with (among others), Jonathon Banks (in a losing effort), and then saw him returning in December 2005 (after beginning his professional career in 2004), when he returned for one last amateur fight against Ivan Stovell (in a losing effort).

Professional career

Vera began his professional career in 2004 with a four-round unanimous decision win over Avien Cooper. He would win his next thirteen bouts, including a decision victory over Darnell Boone (who would later knockout the future lineal light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson), before signing up with the ESPN television series The Contender.

The Contender

He is one of the featured boxers on the third season of the boxing reality TV series, The Contender, which premiered September 4, 2007, on ESPN.^[5] Vera suffered his first professional loss in the opening fight of the contest to the shows runner-up Jaidon Codrington.^[6]

Vera vs. Lee

In 2008, Vera fought then-undefeated and highly touted prospect Andy Lee. In a fight that he was supposed to lose according to most critics, Brian Vera pulled up the upset win and would defeat Lee by TKO in the seventh round. Although the stoppage was regarded as controversial, Vera was behind on points up until that point, though Lee himself appeared to be battered and exhausted from Vera's relentless assault in the 7th.

Vera vs. Kirkland

Vera's career would hit a standstill soon after when he was matched against light-middleweight contender James Kirkland. Kirkland was vicious in his assault against Vera, battering his outmatched opponent all over the ring for the duration of the fight. Vera was knocked down twice in preceding rounds before the faithful eight round, in which a devastating combination from Kirkland put Vera down for a third time. Vera managed to rise up, but was immediately cornered and beaten on until referee Vic Drakulich called a halt to the match, with Vera losing by an eighth-round technical knockout. In the match, Kirkland had managed to land 283 out of 532 thrown punches, whereas Vera only landed 64 out of 470.

Vera only fought once in 2009, losing a definitive decision to Craig McEwan. McEwan was landing combinations nearly at will from the start of the fight, and Vera had no answer for his opponent's boxing ability. In 2010 Vera would go 1-2, first losing a unanimous decision against Isaac Rodrigues before scoring a third-round technical knockout over Sebastien Demers, and finally dropping a twelve-round unanimous decision to middleweight contender Max Bursak.

On February 4, 2011, Vera would defeat fellow Contender competitor Sergio Mora. Vera would win a close but definitive split decision over Mora, and followed up his success with an eighth-round knockout over Eloy Suarez.

Vera vs. Lee II

Later that year Vera would rematch his old foe Andy Lee, this time losing by a wide margin. Lee used his height and reach to excellent effect, keeping the bullish Vera off of him all night, and even scoring a knockdown in the second. Lee displayed excellent boxing tactics and skills by controlling the distance of the fight and continuously blasting Vera with power punches from all angles.

Vera vs. Chávez Jr. I-II

Vera would score four more wins following his defeat to Andy Lee, including a wide unanimous decision against former foe Sergio Mora, as well as a technical knockout victory over Serhiy Dzinziruk before being matched against former WBC middleweight champion Julio César Chávez, Jr. Vera surprised many when he dominated the bout, easily outboxing and out-landing his much larger and sluggish foe. When it was announced after the fight that Chavez had won a unanimous decision, the decision was roundly booed. It was later revealed that not one press row scorer had scored the bout for Chávez Jr., all scoring it definitively for Vera.

Chávez Jr. and Vera would rematch six months later over a twelve-round bout. This time Chavez would use his size and strength more effectively, outboxing and outscoring Vera with relative ease. Vera would lose a far clearer unanimous decision.

Professional Record

23 Wins (14 Knockouts, 9 Decisions), 11 Losses, 0 Draws
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	23-11	Matvey Korobov	UD	8	2016-06-25	The Bomb Factory, Dallas, United States
Loss	23-10	Rocky Fielding	TKO	2 (12)	2015-06-26	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England	For WBC International Silver Super Middleweight title.
Loss	23-9	Willie Monroe, Jr.	UD	10	2015-01-16	Turning Stone Resort & Casino, New York, United States	For WBA-NABA & WBO NABO Middleweight titles.
Loss	23-8	Julio César Chávez Jr.	UD	12	2014-03-01	Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, United States
Loss	23-7	Julio César Chávez Jr.	UD	10	2013-09-28	StubHub Center, Carson, California, United States
Win	23-6	Donatas Bondorovas	RTD	7 (10)	2013-03-29	Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York, United States	Retained WBO NABO Middleweight title.
Win	22-6	Serhiy Dzinziruk	TKO	10 (12)	2013-01-25	Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York, United States	Retained WBO NABO Middleweight title.
Win	21-6	Sergio Mora	MD	12	2012-08-11	Illusions Theater, San Antonio, Texas, United States	Won vacant WBO NABO Middleweight title.
Win	20-6	Taronze Washington	UD	8	2012-04-21	Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas, United States	Won vacant WPBF International Middleweight title.
Loss	19-6	Andy Lee	UD	10	2011-10-01	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	19-5	Eloy Suarez	KO	8 (8)	2011-06-24	Dr Pepper Arena, Frisco, Texas, United States
Win	18-5	Sergio Mora	SD	10	2011-02-04	Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Loss	17-5	Max Bursak	UD	12	2010-09-04	Sportpalace Meteor, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
Win	17-4	Sebastien Demers	TKO	3 (10)	2010-06-11	Uniprix Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Loss	16-4	Isaac Rodrigues	MD	10	2010-02-26	Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York, United States
Loss	16-3	Craig McEwan	UD	10	2009-05-08	Sundance Square, Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Loss	16-2	James Kirkland	TKO	8 (10)	2008-11-22	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	16-1	Andy Lee	TKO	7 (10)	2008-03-21	Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Win	15-1	Max Alexander	UD	6	2007-11-06	TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Loss	14-1	Jaidon Codrington	KO	2 (5)	2007-09-08	Contender Arena, Los Angeles, California, United States	Fight aired as part of ESPN2's "The Contender" series.
Win	14-0	Darnell Boone	UD	10	2007-06-15	Chevrolet Centre, Youngstown, Ohio, United States	Retained IBA Intercontinental Super Middleweight Title.
Win	13-0	Samuel Miller	MD	10	2007-05-11	Buffalo Run Casino, Miami, Oklahoma, United States
Win	12-0	Etianne Whitaker	TKO	3 (10)	2006-11-04	Coushatta Casino Resort, Kinder, Louisiana, United States	Won Vacant IBA Intercontinental Super Middleweight Title.
Win	11-0	Antonio Garcia	KO	3 (8)	2006-08-18	American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas, United States
Win	10-0	Marcus Hicks	TKO	5 (8)	2006-06-09	Sundance Square, Fort Worth, Texas, United States	Won vacant United States Texas State Middleweight title.
Win	9-0	Antonio Garcia	UD	8	2006-02-16	Cowtown Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Win	8-0	Jeremiah Chapman	KO	2 (6)	2005-12-16	Austin Convention Center, Austin, Texas, United States
Win	7-0	Cardyl Finley	KO	1 (8)	2005-11-26	Music Hall, Austin, Texas, United States
Win	6-0	Freeman Taft	TKO	2 (6)	2005-07-22	Gold Coast Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	5-0	Trenice Brown	TKO	3 (6)	2005-06-16	Sundance Square, Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Win	4-0	Javier Diaz	UD	4	2005-03-17	Cowtown Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Win	3-0	Juan Jose Ruiz	TKO	2 (4)	2005-02-26	Dodge Arena, Hidalgo, Texas, United States
Win	2-0	Bert Montez	TKO	2 (4)	2004-09-30	Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas, United States
Win	1-0	Avien Cooper	UD	4	2004-08-27	Renaissance Worthington Hotel, Fort Worth, Texas, United States	Professional Debut.

Big Knockout Boxing record

0 Wins, 1 Loss, 0 Draws
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd, Time	Date	Location	Event	Notes
Loss	0-1	Gabriel Rosado	TKO	6 (7), 1:59	2014-08-16	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	BKB 1	For vacant BKB Middleweight title.

References

External links

• Brian Vera on Myspace
• Professional boxing record for Brian Vera from BoxRec