#bryant perrella

by Seamus McNally

Washington, D.C. welterweight David “Day-Day” Grayton (14-1, 10 KOs) suffered the first defeat of his career Saturday as he was stopped in the second round by Bryant “Goodfella” Perrella (14-0, 13 KOs) of Fort Myers, Florida in the opening bout of a Premier Boxing Champions card televised on ESPN.

Grayton, who was taking a huge step up in competition, started the first round strong and did a good job closing the distance on the much taller Perrella. Perrella quickly adjusted and caught Grayton coming in with some thudding shots that visibly hurt Grayton. Grayton came in throwing wide shots and left himself open as Perrella beat him to the punch with straight, compact shots.

The second round went much the same way, as Perrella caught Grayton lunging in with a glancing blow that sent him down about halfway through the round. Grayton did not appear hurt but Perrella, looking to capitalize on the knockdown, pounced on him anyway.

Perrella staggered Grayton with some powerful punches that had Grayton on shaky legs, then trapped Day Day in a neutral corner and unloaded a barrage of heavy leather until referee Michael Griffin had seen enough. Griffin stepped in at 2:19 of the second round, just as a badly hurt and wobbly Grayton was headed to the canvas for the second time.

A former national Golden Gloves champion, this was a tough loss for Grayton, but hopefully the lesson will serve him well as he continues his career.