Actress Rosie Perez (Do The Right Thing, White Guys Can’t Jump) announced that she’s leaving The View as a co-host. Comedian Michelle Collins will take her place in August. The show’s executive producer Bill Wolff told his staff that Perez “decided to leave the show…to pursue full time her love for acting.” But on camera, the 50-year-old actress didn’t mention acting. She said she will be working with ESPN as a boxing commentator.
Perez says she’s had a passion for boxing since she was little. As an adult she’s been called the “First Lady of Boxing” by Hall of Fame broadcaster Al Bernstein. She gets all dolled up to sit ringside. “When I tell people I’m going to a fight and that I have to have my hair done and makeup on, they joke that it’s like I’m going to a movie premiere,” says Perez. “To me, it’s more impactful than a movie premiere. At the end of a fight, you see a man hanging onto the ropes, tears streaming down his face with the winner holding his hands up to the crowd. This is pure theater. You’re watching two people step into the ring and putting everything on the line. There’s nothing like it.”
