Blood streamed down the face of Jenn (McCormick) Perella ’05 late in the third round of her November 2025 bout at Boston Harbor Fight Night, the result of a nasty gash above her right eye.
Unflappable, Perella reestablished her jab to break the rhythm of opponent Brittany Dukes, protecting the wound until the bell rang. Between rounds, a doctor warned Perella he’d have to intervene if the cut reopened.
“I told him, ‘If my eyeball falls out, please don’t stop this fight,’” recalled Perella, who won by unanimous decision, improving her record as a professional boxer to 4-1.
Afterwards, in the locker room, the doctor sewed six stitches above Perella’s brow, visible today only as a faint scar. But the 42-year-old prizefighter admits the injury was unnerving. “It was the first time I’d ever had blood running into my eye,” she said. But Perella is a focused competitor. In the ring, in the moment, she didn’t waver. This is the life she chose.
It’s been two years since Perella leapt from amateur to pro, forced into a decision after aging out of the elite amateur ranks in 2023. At the time, Perella considered quitting the sport entirely. The choice to continue was carefully weighed against her top priority: being a mother to teenagers Julianna and Joey.
“Your kids watch everything you do,” Perella said. “If I can do one thing for them, it’s show them age is just a number. It’s hard, but you can still make goals, and you can still reach them.”
Growing up one of seven sisters in Milton, Mass., Perella’s competitive mentality was burned into her psyche. At Milton High School, she excelled in three sports. A sport management major, she later walked on to the field hockey team at Endicott and became a two-time All-Conference selection and Player of the Year. She remains in the top 10 all-time in several categories for Endicott, including points (ninth) and game-winning goals (fourth). In 2025, Perella was named to the Conference of New England’s All-40th Anniversary Field Hockey Team.
During college, Perella began running long distance, completing three Boston Marathons. She continued the pursuit after graduation but eventually stopped when it became too difficult to balance training runs with motherhood.
Perella’s accidental boxing journey began in 2014, when she and her sister purchased a $25 Groupon for Peter Welch’s Gym in South Boston. Introductory boxing classes progressed quickly for Perella, evolving from bag work to mitt work to sparring. A trainer encouraged her to participate in Haymakers for Hope, a charity boxing event that matches first-time fighters. She figured, why not?
The adrenaline rush of Haymakers led to Perrella’s first amateur fight in 2015, which she won against a more experienced opponent. Her amateur career flourished, and she compiled a 16-4 record while capturing two New England Golden Glove championships. Rather than seeing boxing as a livelihood, however, Perella was drawn to the sport for the same reasons many mothers find personal outlets.
“It was the one thing I had for myself,” she explained. “I’m very competitive, but mostly with myself. I want to beat what I was yesterday.”
Family obligations forced a five-year hiatus from boxing (2018-23) while Perella’s husband, Anthony, transitioned to a new career. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Anthony built a home gym as Perella pursued bodybuilding. She even placed in the top five in a bodybuilding bikini competition in Vancouver. Although Perella realized the glitz and glamour made her uncomfortable, the contest rekindled her competitive drive.
Perella’s return to boxing at age 40 culminated at the National Golden Gloves in Detroit, where she earned a silver medal after falling to a 23-year-old Olympic qualifier. It was then that she had the pivotal conversation with her coach, Nick Cyr. The options were either enter a master’s amateur level—against boxers unlikely to challenge her—or turn pro.
“He said, ‘We can end on this,’” Perella recalled. “But I told him, ‘I’m not ready to be done.’ We decided to do a pro fight to see if I liked it.”
So far, her comeback has exceeded expectations. Since losing her first pro match in November 2024, Perella has won four straight, results that prompted Granite Chin Promotions to sign her to an exclusive contract. Her first of three 2026 fights is scheduled for May 16, 2026, against 35-year-old Kate Radomska at the Quincy Youth Arena. That event will likely mark her children’s inaugural attendance at one of her fights (she worries about them seeing her get hurt), and her son’s hockey team will walk Perella to the ring.
Cyr, who’s been with her since the beginning, points to Perella’s discipline, determination, and grit for making her such a formidable opponent.
“Women’s boxing is extremely competitive, and every matchup presents real challenges,” Cyr said. “Jenn is just getting started at 42, and she’s adapted to every obstacle placed in front of her.”
To accommodate her boxing, Perella maintains a structured regimen that revolves around family responsibilities. She wakes up at 6 a.m., makes the kids’ lunches, and sees them off before starting her own day. Her routine includes training clients in her home gym, doing her own strength and conditioning, and fitting in three-mile recovery runs after her kids’ activities.
“I’m lucky my husband supports me, so I can still be me, still train, but still be here and be a mom—because I’m a mom first,” she said.
Perella never misses her kids’ games and is there to help with homework and make dinner, all while maintaining her own rigorous nutritional standards, which will allow her to “cut smart” as she transforms from 125 to 112 pounds for her May fight.
When people discover Perella is a professional boxer, they’re usually struck by the juxtaposition between her friendly appearance and the brutality of her profession. “A lot of them think it’s cool, but some don’t get it.”
Perella brings her maternal instinct to the ring. On two occasions, after landing a knockout punch, she grabbed an opponent on her way down. “I know I’m not supposed to do that, but it’s instinctual,” she explained. “I don’t want them to fall.”
Professional boxing comes with the added responsibility of promoting oneself, which Perella embraces. Her background in sport management has proven useful in navigating that side of the sport.
“Sport management can be a huge advantage on the promotional side of professional boxing because boxing isn’t just about fighting—it’s about building a brand, selling tickets, and negotiating smart deals,” Perella said. “In boxing, one bad contract can stall a career. Knowing what you’re signing is critical.”
But Perella prefers the moments away from the limelight, when she’s working to perfect skills she knows may never be perfect. “I love the part where no one sees me,” Perella said. “I like the grind of it all.”
Perella is ready to put that preparation to the test again this year—physically and mentally. She hasn’t cut corners. Still, the butterflies will persist until the moment she enters the ring.
“Right when I go through the ropes, that [anxiety] shuts off,” she said. “And then once I throw my first punch or get hit, there’s no nerves. You just go.”