# Brian Vera

Bryan Lee Vera (born December 28, 1981) is an American professional boxer currently competing as a 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.

## Early life and education

Vera 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 a professional boxer, and his father was a two-time IBA champion in the heavyweight division.

## 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. Vera suffered his first professional loss in the opening fight of the contest to the shows runner-up Jaidon Codrington.

### 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 boxing record

| 45 fights | 28 wins | 17 losses |
| By knockout | 18 | 5 |
| By decision | 10 | 12 |
Key to abbreviations used for results :
| DQ | Disqualification | RTD | Corner retirement |
| KO | Knockout | SD | Split decision / split draw |
| MD | Majority decision / majority draw | TD | Technical decision / technical draw |
| NC | No contest | TKO | Technical knockout |
| PTS | Points decision | UD | Unanimous decision / unanimous draw |
Boxing record :
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round(s) | Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 45 | Loss | 28–17 | Kendrick Ball Jr | UD | 8 | N/a | 17 Apr 2021 | New England Sports Center, Derry, New Hampshire, U.S. | For vacant WBC USA Silver super middleweight title |
| 44 | Win | 28–16 | Francisco Ariri Neto | TKO | 1 (4) | 1:24 | 14 Nov 2020 | New England Sports Center, Derry, New Hampshire, U.S. | |
| 43 | Win | 27–16 | Mike Anderson | KO | 1 (4) | 1:01 | 29 Aug 2020 | New England Sports Center, Derry, New Hampshire, U.S. | |
| 42 | Loss | 26–16 | Ahmed Elbiali | TKO | 6 (10) | 1:15 | 28 Dec 2019 | State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | |
| 41 | Loss | 26–15 | Marcus McDaniel | UD | 6 | N/a | 9 Feb 2019 | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | |
| 40 | Loss | 26–14 | Sena Agbeko | UD | 8 | N/a | 8 Dec 2018 | Mid-TN Expo, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S. | |
| 39 | Loss | 26–13 | Jas Phipps | UD | 6 | N/a | 8 Dec 2017 | Round Rock Sports Center, Round Rock, Texas, U.S. | |
| 38 | Loss | 26–12 | Mike Gavronski | TKO | 6 (10) | 2:21 | 9 Sep 2017 | Emerald Queen Casino, Tacoma, Washington, U.S. | |
| 37 | Win | 26–11 | Milton Nuñez | RTD | 5 (8) | 3:00 | 24 Jun 2017 | San Antonio Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | |
| 36 | Win | 25–11 | Larry Smith | TKO | 2 (6) | 2:10 | 11 Jan 2017 | Alzafar Shrine, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | |
| 35 | Win | 24–11 | Juan Carlos Rojas | MD | 6 | N/a | 15 Oct 2016 | Zaragoza Park, Austin, Texas, U.S. | |
| 34 | Loss | 23–11 | Matvey Korobov | UD | 8 | N/a | 26 Jun 2016 | The Bomb Factory, Dallas, Texas, U.S. | |
| 33 | Loss | 23–10 | Rocky Fielding | TKO | 2 (12) | 1:39 | 26 Jun 2015 | Echo Arena, Liverpool, Merseyside, UK | For WBC International Silver super middleweight title |
| 32 | Loss | 23–9 | Willie Monroe Jr. | UD | 10 | N/a | 16 Jan 2015 | Turning Stone Resort & Casino, New York, U.S. | For NABA & NABO middleweight titles |
| 31 | Loss | 23–8 | Julio César Chávez Jr. | UD | 12 | N/a | 1 Mar 2014 | Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | |
| 30 | Loss | 23–7 | Julio César Chávez Jr. | UD | 10 | N/a | 28 Sep 2013 | StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S. | |
| 29 | Win | 23–6 | Donatas Bondorovas | RTD | 7 (10) | 3:00 | 29 Mar 2013 | Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York, U.S. | Retained NABO middleweight title |
| 28 | Win | 22–6 | Serhiy Dzinziruk | TKO | 10 (12) | 1:50 | 25 Jan 2013 | Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York, U.S. | Retained NABO middleweight title |
| 27 | Win | 21–6 | Sergio Mora | MD | 12 | N/a | 11 Aug 2012 | Illusions Theater, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | Won vacant NABO middleweight title |
| 26 | Win | 20–6 | Taronze Washington | UD | 8 | N/a | 21 Apr 2012 | Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | Won vacant WPBF International middleweight title |
| 25 | Loss | 19–6 | Andy Lee | UD | 10 | N/a | 1 Oct 2011 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 24 | Win | 19–5 | Eloy Suarez | KO | 8 (8) | 0:30 | 24 Jun 2011 | Dr Pepper Arena, Frisco, Texas, U.S. | |
| 23 | Win | 18–5 | Sergio Mora | SD | 10 | N/a | 4 Feb 2011 | Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | |
| 22 | Loss | 17–5 | Max Bursak | UD | 12 | N/a | 4 Sep 2010 | Sportpalace Meteor, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine | |
| 21 | Win | 17–4 | Sebastien Demers | TKO | 3 (10) | 1:57 | 11 Jun 2010 | Uniprix Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| 20 | Loss | 16–4 | Isaac Rodrigues | MD | 10 | N/a | 6 Feb 2010 | Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York, U.S. | |
| 19 | Loss | 16–3 | Craig McEwan | UD | 10 | N/a | 8 May 2009 | Sundance Square, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | |
| 18 | Loss | 16–2 | James Kirkland | TKO | 8 (10) | 1:45 | 22 Nov 2008 | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 17 | Win | 16–1 | Andy Lee | TKO | 7 (10) | 2:17 | 21 Mar 2008 | Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, U.S. | |
| 16 | Win | 15–1 | Max Alexander | UD | 6 | N/a | 6 Nov 2007 | TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| 15 | Loss | 14–1 | Jaidon Codrington | KO | 2 (5) | 1:32 | 8 Sep 2007 | Contender Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Fight aired as part of ESPN2's "The Contender" series. |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Darnell Boone | UD | 10 | N/a | 15 Jun 2007 | Chevrolet Centre, Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. | Retained IBA Intercontinental super middleweight title |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Samuel Miller | MD | 10 | N/a | 11 May 2007 | Buffalo Run Casino, Miami, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Etianne Whitaker | TKO | 3 (10) | 1:58 | 4 Nov 2006 | Coushatta Casino Resort, Kinder, Louisiana, U.S. | Won vacant IBA Intercontinental super middleweight title |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Antonio Garcia | KO | 3 (8) | ? | 18 Aug 2006 | American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas, U.S. | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Marcus Hicks | TKO | 5 (8) | 2:05 | 9 Jun 2006 | Sundance Square, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | Won vacant United States Texas State middleweight title |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Antonio Garcia | UD | 8 | N/a | 16 Feb 2006 | Cowtown Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Jeremiah Chapman | KO | 2 (6) | 0:40 | 16 Dec 2005 | Austin Convention Center, Austin, Texas, U.S. | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Cardyl Finley | KO | 1 (8) | 2:47 | 26 Nov 2005 | Music Hall, Austin, Texas, U.S. | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Freeman Taft | TKO | 2 (6) | 2:05 | 22 Jul 2005 | Gold Coast Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Trenice Brown | TKO | 3 (6) | 2:36 | 16 Jun 2005 | Sundance Square, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Javier Diaz | UD | 4 | N/a | 17 Mar 2005 | Cowtown Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Juan Jose Ruiz | TKO | 2 (4) | 1:10 | 26 Feb 2005 | Dodge Arena, Hidalgo, Texas, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Bert Montez | TKO | 2 (4) | ? | 30 Sep 2004 | Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas, U.S. | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Avien Cooper | UD | 4 | N/a | 27 Aug 2004 | Renaissance Worthington Hotel, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | 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. |