His brother, Gilbert "Boogie" Vera, is a professional boxer,[2][3] and his father was a two-time IBA champion in the heavyweight division.
He would win his next thirteen bouts, including a decision victory over Darnell Boone (who would later knockout the future lineal light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson), before signing up with the ESPN television series The Contender.
In a fight that he was supposed to lose according to most critics, Brian Vera pulled up the upset win and would defeat Lee by TKO in the seventh round.
Vera would win a close but definitive split decision over Mora, and followed up his success with an eighth-round knockout over Eloy Suarez.
Lee displayed excellent boxing tactics and skills by controlling the distance of the fight and continuously blasting Vera with power punches from all angles.
Vera would score four more wins following his defeat to Andy Lee, including a wide unanimous decision against former foe Sergio Mora, as well as a technical knockout victory over Serhiy Dzinziruk before being matched against former WBC middleweight champion Julio César Chávez, Jr. Vera surprised many when he dominated the bout, easily outboxing and out-landing his much larger and sluggish foe.