Nico Hernandez

Nico Hernández (born January 4, 1996)[1] is an American boxer, from Wichita, Kansas—an Olympic medalist and pro boxer, noted for unusually fast and aggressive boxing.

Nico Hernández
Statistics
Weight(s)Flyweight
Height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
NationalityAmerican
Born (1996-01-04) January 4, 1996
Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
Boxing record
Total fights6
Wins6
Wins by KO4
Losses0
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  United States
Summer Olympics
2016 Rio De Janeiro Light Flyweight

He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he won an Olympic Bronze Medal for the United States, in the Men's light flyweight division—the United States' first Olympic men's boxing medal since the 2008 Beijing Olympics[2][3][4][5][6]—capping a 94-5 amateur career (94 wins, 5 losses) with, over six years, six national titles.[7][8][9]

Hernandez began his professional boxing career in 2017, starting with back-to-back knockouts in nationally televised bouts.[10][11]

Early athletic experiences

Hernandez's career was chiefly built on the relationship with two colleagues: his father, and his best friend. Hernandez was first introduced to boxing at the age of 9, by his father, Lewis, a truck driver in Wichita, Kansas, who later became Nico's coach. The boy took a liking to boxing with his first encounter—then became an energetic young fighter, winning his first 25 fights—aggressively reaching for tougher, even older and bigger, opponents.[2][4][6][12][9]

Along with best friend Tony Losey—a troubled teen also coached (and rehabilitated) by Lewis—the two boys developed into competitive boxers, with aspirations of winning 2016 Olympic gold medals together (Losey rising to USA Boxing's 3rd-place ranking among welterweights, and younger Hernandez winning gold at the National Junior Olympics in 2011 and 2012.). They remained intensely involved with boxing, together—supporting each other's careers—until 2014, when Losey died in an industrial accident.[2][6][12][13]

At Wichita North High School, Hernandez also excelled in wrestling, eagerly taking on better and bigger opponents with a ferocity and endurance that shocked them, and his coach.[6]

Young Hernandez' amateur boxing career—with only 4 losses in over 90 fights—included, by age 21, eight wins in the Ringside World Championship (an annual Kansas City-area event billed as "the largest amateur boxing tournament in the world"[14][15]), along with six consecutive Silver Gloves National Championship wins, and a 2014 National Golden Gloves gold medal.[8][9]

2016 Olympic qualifications

Hernandez entered Boxing Qualification for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Despite two failed attempts to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team, Hernandez persisted, qualifying in March, 2016. At the 2016 American Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he won the silver medal in the men's flyweight. He defeated Argentina's Leandro Blanc in the semifinals to secure his place in the Olympic competition and advanced to the final to face Yuberjen Martinez of Colombia.[13][16]

2016 Rio Olympics

Entering Boxing at the 2016 Summer Olympics, 20-year-old Hernandez—a virtual unknown in boxing—weighed in at 108 pounds, entering the Men's light flyweight division. Not expected to win, his unexpected Olympic victories created a stir in the boxing community. His USA Olympic boxing coach was Billy Walsh (though his lifelong boxing coach had been his own father, Lewis Hernandez).[2][4][5][13][17] Ironically, Walsh had previously coached Brendan Irvine, an Irish boxer who, the year before, had defeated Hernandez in the starting round of a world championship fight in Qatar.[18]

For the first time since 1980, protective headgear would not be worn by Olympic boxers during their matches. This would become a problem for Hernandez in his final fight.[3]

First Fight

Though not expected to beat Manuel Cappai of Italy, and starting off slowly in the first round—losing on two judges' scorecards—Hernandez found his strength in the second and third round, overwhelming Cappai, and winning.[2][13][17]

Second Fight

In his second fight, low-seeded Hernandez faced Russia's Vasili Egorov, second-seeded, and silver medalist of the last world championship—the defending European champion. Though again starting off slowly, Hernandez surprised his opponent, in the second and third rounds, with fast aggression, moving in close and overpowering Egorov—winning a surprise upset by unanimous decision of the judges.[2][13][18][17][19]

Third Fight

In his third fight, this one for the Olympic bronze medal, he faced Carlos Quipo Pilataxi of Ecuador. Again starting slowly, he came from behind to win, again—ensuring himself an Olympic medal, and startling the boxing world[2][4]—becoming the first American male boxer to win an Olympic medal since heavyweight boxer Deontay Wilder's 2008 bronze medal win—and the first light flyweight American male boxer to win an Olympic medal since Michael Carbajal (a future International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee) won a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.[4][13][17][20]

Fourth & Final Fight

In his fourth fight—the semi-finals, for the Olympic silver medal—he fought the Asian champion, Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan, Hernandez again started slowly, but this time could not make the come-from-behind win. One reporter suggested he had trouble figuring out Dusmatov's odd, left-handed style. The smaller and quicker Dusmatov was the aggressive leader in the first round. An accidental head-butt gashed Hernandez, leading to a bloody face and briefly blurred vision; a doctor cleaned him up between rounds 2 and 3, but Hernandez did not rebound fully. And, in the third and final round, the referee interrupted the fight to have a doctor attend the cut. For the rest of the fight, Dusmatov mostly avoided Hernandez, backing away and keeping out of Hernandez's way. Hernández, by his own admission, "waited too long" for things to change. Though two judges' scorecards gave the third round to Hernandez, Dusmatov won the match.[13][2][3][4][5][17]

After applauding his opponent's victory, Hernandez admitted fighting "his fight instead of my own," adding, "I let him come in and make the fight too wild and that's how I lost." With scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 (USA Today reported "29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 for Dusmatov"), the judges unanimously credited the win to Dusmatov.[2][3] Though Hernandez lost the fight on points, he kept an Olympic bronze medal.[5][17]

Despite defeating Hernández for the Olympic Silver Medal, rival Dusmatov (who ultimately won the Gold Medal) described the match as his own most difficult fight of the Olympics, up to that point—describing Hernández as a "champion," who is "really, really strong."[2][5]

Hometown impact & response

Hernandez was Wichita's first Olympic medalist since the 1984 team gold-medal wins of women's basketball star Lynette Woodard and men's volleyball athlete Marc Waldie—and the first Wichitan to win an individual Olympic medal since runner Jim Ryun won silver in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.[5]

On his return to Wichita, Hernandez was celebrated with an official city reception party at the local airport, a parade through his neighborhood, and a celebration at his alma mater, Wichita High School North. He was awarded a four-year scholarship to Wichita State University, which he expressed plans to use.[4][21]

Hernandez also reportedly "really connects" with local kids and speaks often at local schools.[22]

Pro career

Shortly after his Olympic victory, USA Today reported that Hernandez planned to turn to professional boxing after the 2016 Olympics.[3] Hernandez's father, Lewis, resumed his role as Nico's head trainer and coach.[22][23]

Hoping to replicate the hometown pro success of Omaha, Nebraska boxer Terence Crawford—a unified junior welterweight champion—Hernandez initially sought to start with an undercard fight at a December 10, 2016 Crawford match in Omaha in a one-time event sponsored by promoter Top Rank. But the deal fell through.[4]

Instead, like Crawford, Hernandez began his pro boxing career in and around his hometown—starting in the Wichita area as a featured fighter for the new matches of the "Knockout Night Boxing" (KO Night Boxing, LLC) organization. His first two fights in 2017, at age 21—before thousands of fans at local arenas, and nationally televised by the CBS Sports Network—both ended in knockout victories for Hernandez.[7][24][22][4][10][11][25]

First pro fight

Hernandez's first professional fight, March 25, 2017 (in front of 3,100 fans at the Kansas Star Arena of the Kansas Star Casino, near Wichita, and televised nationally by CBS Sports Network), was against Las Vegas novice pro Patrick Gutierrez, a junior bantamweight fighter who had lost his two previous pro matches, and passed up a third "easy fight" to instead challenge Olympic medalist Hernandez—hoping that defeating Hernandez would gain him quick elevation to national prominence.[4][24][7][10][25][22]

This was the first fight in which Hernandez had ever been scheduled for six rounds, and one of the few experiences he had ever had fighting without protective headgear (which had proven a problem for him at the 2016 Olympics).[4][24][7][10]

Through four rounds, Hernandez exerted full control, attacking aggressively and rapidly. Hernandez also introduced a surprise move, which he'd never used before: body-punching shots "going up the middle." He also switched briefly to left-handed blows. The fight ended in a technical knockout (TKO) of Gutierrez. Gutierrez, who had fought in heavier divisions, said he'd never before had his "bell rung like that" in any fight.[10][25][22]

Second pro fight

Hernandez's second pro fight, June 17, 2017, in front of 2,000 boxing fans just outside Wichita at Hartman Arena in Park City, was initially broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network (until a storm knocked out communications).[25][11][26][22][23]

His challenger was Mexico native Jose Rodriguez, 29. a novice flyweight boxer of Markesan, Wisconsin, with a 2-0 pro record (having knocked out his two winless previous challengers). Rodriguez was trained by Angel Manfredy, himself a successful lightweight boxer (43-8-1, 32 KOs) and four-time world title challenger, who'd fought Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Diego Corrales and Stevie Johnston.[25][22][26][23]

Rodriguez's pre-match public remarks—claiming Hernandez wouldn't go the distance, and promising to knock him out—reportedly infuriated Hernandez, who committed to "take him out." In the following match, Hernandez did exactly that, quickly, maintaining control of the furious fight with multiple downings of his opponent, ending in a third-round knockout. Ernie Haines, Rodriguez's trainer summarized "We ran into a hurricane tonight." Describing Hernandez as "the first person of this caliber" they'd ever encountered, Haines said, "He barbequed us."[11][26][23]

CBS Sports Network's color commentator for the fight, Sean Wheelock, said the bout demonstrated that Hernandez, in a fight, "is a phenomenal power puncher," recalling Hernandez's previous fight showing "he just rips the body." Wheelock summarized the two bouts as showing "an evolution in Nico," projecting it would be "a rapid evolution," with potential power at fighting weights up to 135 pounds.[11]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
6 fights 6 wins 0 losses
By knockout 4 0
By decision 2 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
6 Win 6–0 Josue Morales UD 8 Nov 18, 2018 Kansas Star Arena, Mulvane, Kansas, USA
5 Win 5–0 Szilveszter Kanalas KO 1 (12), 2:52 May 19, 2018 Kansas Star Arena, Mulvane, Kansas, USA Won vacant IBA flyweight title
4 Win 4–0 Victor Torres TKO 5 (8), 0:55 Feb 10, 2018 Hartman Arena, Park City, Kansas, USA
3 Win 3–0 Kendrick Latchman UD 6 Sep 23, 2017 Hartman Arena, Park City, Kansas, USA
2 Win 2–0 Jose Rodriguez KO 3 (6), 2:38 Jun 17, 2017 Hartman Arena, Park City, Kansas, USA
1 Win 1–0 Patrick Gutierrez TKO 4 (6), 2:35 Mar 25, 2017 Kansas Star Arena, Mulvane, Kansas, USA Professional Debut
gollark: CPU progress is rather slow now.
gollark: We have vaguely working chatbot things. AGI is not "somewhat better chatbots".
gollark: I mean that if you think AGI will be around in 5 years, some longer-term financial trends are basically irrelevant.
gollark: Yes.
gollark: Exactly.

References
  1. "Nico Hernandez Boxing". United States Olympic Committee. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  2. Posnanski, Joe, "For Nico Hernandez, there will be other days," NBC Olympics August 12 or 13, 2016, retrieved August 13, 2016
  3. Velin, Bob, "Nico Hernandez's Olympic dream ends with bronze medal," August 12, 2016, USA TODAY, retrieved August 13, 2016
  4. Rafael, Dan, ESPN Senior Writer, "Olympian Nico Hernandez gets second shot at first pro fight," February 17, 2017, ESPN.com retrieved June 19, 2017
  5. Kudialis, Chris, Eagle correspondent, "Wichitan Nico Hernandez loses in Olympic boxing semifinal," August 12, 2016, Wichita Eagle newspaper, retrieved August 13, 2016
  6. Naktin, Eric, Boxer Nico Hernandez excelled as North High wrestler," August 10, 2016, Updated August 12, 2016, KSN-TV (Kansas State Network / KSN-W, Wichita, Kansas), retrieved August 13, 2016
  7. Salazar, Fernando, "Can Nico Hernandez Be a Boxing Star?" March 24, 2017, Wichita Eagle retrieved June 19, 2017
  8. "Nico Hernandez' pro debut March 25 in Kansas on CBS Sports Network," February 16, 2017, Boxing News on BoxingNews24.com, retrieved June 19, 2017
  9. "Nico Hernandez - 49KG," official stats, August 14, 2016, International Boxing Association (AIBA), Lausanne, Switzerland, retrieved June 19, 2017
  10. Eldridge, Taylor, "Nico Hernandez pro boxing debut recap: Nico Hernandez wins pro debut with fourth-round TKO," March 26, 2017, Wichita Eagle retrieved June 19, 2017
  11. Eldridge, Taylor, "Nico Hernandez Wins Second Professional Fight," June 17, 2017, Wichita Eagle retrieved June 19, 2017
  12. Rosenberg, Michael, "Nico Hernandez carrying Tony Losey's memory with him at Rio Olympics," August 8, 2016, Sports Illustrated, retrieved August 13, 2016
  13. Baxter, Kevin "Nico Hernandez ends U.S. boxing's medal drought with some help from a friend," under "2016 Summer Olympics: The U.S. dominates Rio Games with 121 medals," Aug. 27, 2016, Los Angeles Times, retrieved June 19, 2017
  14. 2017 Ringside World Championships," official website, retrieved June 19. 2017
  15. Press release: Independence to Host Ringside World Championships," in "Press Release Central," July 22, 2013, Kansas City Star, retrieved June 19. 2017
  16. Seminoff, Kirk (March 20, 2016). "Wichita's Nico Hernandez qualifies for boxing at Rio Olympics". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  17. Kilgore, Adam, "Nico Hernandez settles for bronze, first men’s boxing medal for U_S_ since 2008," August 12, 2016, Washington Post, retrieved June 19, 2017
  18. Beacham, Greg, Associated Press in Rio de Janeiro, "US boxer Nico Hernandez scores big upset of Russian star," August 9, 2016, Associated Press, retrieved June 19, 2017
  19. Mannion, Connor, "Nico Hernandez defeats top ranked Egorov, moves on," August 8, 2016, NBC Olympics, NBC Sports, retrieved June 19, 2017
  20. Gajanan, Mahita, "Olympics Boxer Nico Hernandez Loses Phone in Rio," August 14, 2016, Time, retrieved June 19, 2017
  21. Sandefur, Sean, "City Of Wichita To Laud Olympic Boxer Nico Hernandez With A Hero's Welcome," August 18, 2016, KMUW-FM, Wichita State University, retrieved June 20, 2017
  22. Rafael, Dan, ESPN Senior Writer, "Nico Hernandez back home for second fight, too," May 1, 2017, ESPN retrieved June 19, 2017
  23. "Nico Hernandez earns second KO win," June 18, 2017, updated June 19, 2017, KWCH-TV retrieved June 19, 2017
  24. Salazar, Fernando,"Nico Hernandez's pro boxing debut will be March 25," February 16, 2017, Wichita Eagle retrieved June 19, 2017
  25. "Nico Hernandez Back on June 17, CBS Sports Network," May 1, 2017, Boxing News at BoxingScene.com, retrieved June 19, 2017
  26. "Nico Hernandez stops Jose Rodriguez in the third round," June 18th, 2017, Boxing News on BoxingNews24.com, retrieved June 19, 2017
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