By Ryan Songalia

Newark, N.J. welterweight Alex Perez is no stranger to playing musical chairs with opponents. The 29-year-old "Brick City Bullet" with a 14-0 (8 KO) record was originally supposed to face Brian Vera's younger brother Gilbert Vera, also of Austin, Tex. with a record of 11-3-2 (5 KO), but a pullout and two others have left him without an opponent for his eight round bout on the undercard of the Sergio Martinez-Darren Barker card, which takes place on October 1 in Atlantic City.

 

Now, with less than a week to go before the fight, Perez may face faded former champ DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley (37-18-1, 22 KO). The former WBO junior welterweight titlist has lost 7 of his last 8 fights, but would be Perez's most experienced opponent by far.

 

"We trained for one person, then it changes," said Perez, who ended sparring on Saturday without once working with a southpaw.

 

Perez, who is now promoted by Dibella Entertainment, endured a boxing "Hell" of sorts, enduring long periods of inactivity and aborted fight camps without a major promoter.

 

The most recent switch has Perez just a bit upset, but it's energy he says he plans on channeling positively.

 

"My motto is go through hell to get to heaven," said Perez. "I'm gonna kill this motherf*cker across from me in the corner."

 

Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and contributes to GMA News and the Filipino Reporter newspaper in New York City. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com . An archive of his work can be found at . Follow him on Twitter: @RyanSongalia.