Paulie Malignaggi
Cherry began boxing professionally in 2001, with mixed results (3-2-2 as of July 2002). Soon after signing with Peter Fernandez and Starfight Productions he appeared to find his groove, racking up 14 straight wins and acquiring a number of minor titles—the WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation Lightweight title and the NBA Intercontinental Lightweight Title. Cherry then lost an IBF title eliminator to Ricky Quiles by split decision to end his win streak. In February 2007 Cherry lost a unanimous decision to Paulie Malignaggi on HBO.