Nickname: "The Punisher"
Born in Madison, West Virginia - Perry "The Punisher" Ballard got a late start in the pro ranks. After a brief but successful amateur run, going 17-2, he turned professional at an event in Myrtle Beach SC on April 30, 1999 at the age of 32. It was a great start as he scored a 2nd round tko over Kerney Bennett.
The proud Native American (Cherokee) boxer ran his record to 5-0 winning 3 by ko and was matched against 95 fight veteran Benji "Bad News" Singleton in Singleton's home town of Charlotte NC. Ballard came away with a split decision victory in a bout that was good enough to do a rematch, but this time it would be for the vacant WBF Inter-Continental Jr. Middleweight title. The first meeting was a 6 round under-card bout. This time it was stepped to a 12 round main event, and it would be held on neutral turf in Leesburg, VA. August 3, 2001 was the night that Perry Ballard took his first title belt with a 9th round stoppage of Singleton.
After a 4 round tune-up win, Ballard returned to Leesburg VA and defended his title belt via 4th round tko over tough Tony Ault of Columbus, OH.
Ballard then went on an 8-fight knockout win streak and found his self being stepped up in class as he put his unbeaten (17-0) record on the line against world ranked Jimmy Lange (25-2-1) in a non-title bout scheduled for 12 rounds. The bout was the semi-main event of a card that featured Lamont Pearson (21-3-1) taking on Shamir Reyes (18-3-2) for the vacant USBA Jr. Lightweight title. Ballard took his first defeat being stopped in round 4.
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| Perry Ballard was a fan favorite! |
Ballard took the loss in stride, and bounced back with a 2nd round tko win over 2-time world title challenger Bobby Elkins (29-20) followed up with back-to-back wins over Travis Clybourn stopping Clybourn in the first meeting, and then winning the rematch via convincing unanimous decision.
With his record now standing at 20-1 and having held the WBF's Welterweight Championship, Ballard was named as the opponent to face off with a boxing legend - Hector "Macho" Camacho (78-5-2) in a 12 rounder for the vacant WBF International Jr. Middleweight title. The bout was held at Reliant Arena in Houston TX. It was the legendary Camacho's night as he stopped Ballard in round 7 adding another title belt to his collection.
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| It was a big night of boxing in Houston, TX! |
That loss to Camacho would be the last defeat tasted by Ballard. He came back with an 8-round majority draw against Richard Dinkins on scores of 77-75 for Ballard, and 76-76 x 2.
Ballard ran off a 4-fight win streak scoring wins in a 2nd and 3rd meeting with South Carolina's Booker Mullins (both 1st round tko wins), and then he avenged the draw he had against Richard Dinkins with a 6 round unanimous decision victory to run his record to 24-2-1.
Perry Ballard's win streak got him noticed and he was named as one of the challengers for the vacant WBF World Super Middleweight Championship against Hannibal, Missouri's popular 57 fight veteran - Steve "The Spoiler" Walker. It was a grand night for Ballard in what was expected to be his final fight, he went out with a 4th round technical knockout win to gain the WBF World Title!
It turned out not to be his final pro bout after all. nearly 3 years later, at the age of 50 years old, Ballard returned to the ring in a rematch against Walker - who was determined to avenge his world title loss to Ballard. But Perry did it again, on July 22 of 2017 - winning a unanimous 6 round decision in the rematch.
It was an amazing journey for a man who got a late start in boxing, gave the fans plenty to cheer about, and won titles including the WBF's World title... at age 47!
As of this writing, his pro record is: 26 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw, with 19 wins by knockout. Check out his pro ledger at boxrec:
PERRY BALLARD Pro Record
That may not even be the end of the story. There is talk that Ballard may be back in the ring one day soon. ....at age 52! He is working on a law degree and will be going for his LLM. Ballard is a family man who succeeds, and when his boxing days are "officially" over, he is ready to start the next chapter of his amazing journey in life!
If you would like to see Perry "The Punisher" Ballard in ring action for yourself, I have the following bouts available for trade on DVD:
PERRY BALLARD vs
TRAVIS CLYBOURNE #2 [w-8]
TONY AULT #1 [tko-4]
TONY AULT #2 [tko-3]
BOOKER MULLINS #2 [ko-1]
TONY AULT #1 [tko-4]
TONY AULT #2 [tko-3]
BOOKER MULLINS #2 [ko-1]
Contact me for information: The Boxing Guru
Boxing Fans, check out Dan's book:
MAT TALES - True Stories from the Bizarre, Brutal World of Pro Boxing
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