Leonardo "El Zambo de Cienfuegos" Perdomo, an undefeated Cuban boxer from the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), issued an open challenge to all his rivals and declared himself the best in the world in his discipline during a extensive interview with the show El Refugio on MoluscoTV, filmed in Puerto Rico in March 2026.
"I am number one now. In the entire world. Number one from Cuba to the world," asserted Perdomo, who boasts a record of 11 victories and zero losses, all by knockout or TKO in the BKFC, the leading global organization for bare-knuckle boxing, a discipline practiced without gloves or wraps.
His most recent performance was on March 20, when he knocked out Rashad Coulter in just one minute and seven seconds of the first round at BKFC 87, held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
After that victory, he publicly challenged the BKFC heavyweight champion, the Belarusian Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski: "Arlovski, where are you? Come find me! Don't be afraid. The belt is mine."
Perdomo also made it clear that his ambition goes beyond sports. At the weigh-in for that same event, he appeared chained by his feet, hands, and neck, symbolically broke the chains, danced, and shouted "Let's break the chains, Cuba! Long live Free Cuba!", wearing shorts that said "Down with communism" on one leg and "Free Cuba" on the other.
The fighter, who has been in the United States for three years, does not hide his political stance: "Until Cuba is free and without dictatorship, I can't tell you that I'm going to be the champion of Cuba," he stated in the interview.
His personal story is as impactful as his career. He was born in Santiago de Cuba, in the east of the island, and at the age of nine, he moved to Cienfuegos, the province with which he identifies. He grew up in extreme poverty, without shoes to attend school. "I am that little Cuban boy, the one without shoes, the one who goes to school in a dirty shirt," he recounted.
He was raised in a nomadic manner, spending time with aunts, cousins, and grandmothers after his parents' separation—an experience he describes as "detachment" and "rejection," which he claims fuels his mindset in the ring.
She left Cuba with just $200 and a ten euro bill, traveling through Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Mexico before crossing the border into the United States. In Mexico, she participated in an underground fight at a cockfighting ring, with her hands tied, in order to win 15,000 Mexican pesos and be able to continue her journey.
Upon arriving in the United States, he was transported by bus to Washington D.C., where volunteers from a church purchased him a flight to Miami and gave him $300 in cash. He lived for three months in the shelter of Rescue Evangelical Church in Miami, even asking God for just seven dollars a day to buy a spaghetti with ground meat that cost $6.80.
Regarding his combat mentality, Perdomo leaves no room for doubt: "I am a shark in the water. Please, do not mess with me. Respect my journey. Outside of that, I am a gorilla."
And regarding the regime he left behind, he was equally straightforward: "I would never endorse anyone's regime because it is really messed up. What Cuba is experiencing today and what Venezuela is going through, I am clear that I wouldn't want that for my country."
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