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06/03/2004 Archived Entry: "Miguel Hernandez Fights For Son, Trainer Sam Colona and the Love of the Sport"
Miguel Hernandez Fights For Son, Trainer Sam Colona and the Love of the Sport
By Juan C. Ayllon
(Chicago, Illinois): Recent storm surges creating hazardous flooding in northern Illinois yielded to clear skies, just two days before Miguel Hernandez’ fight for the Illinois State Middleweight Title. 
Could this be the calm before the storm? In this exclusive interview with the Cyber Boxing Zone, the popular Chicagoan bomber, Hernandez (10-1-0, 7 KO’s), spoke candidly about his upcoming bout, his career, his son—who will be fighting on the same card as well, his trainer, his promoter and his future.
Juan Ayllon: How are you feeling about your preparations for Friday night’s fight?
Miguel Hernandez: I feel good, you know, I feel strong. I got off of my last fight two weeks ago—a tough fight—and I feel that that prepared me for this fight.
JA: Do you know whom you’ll be fighting?
MH: Yes, I do, but at this time I can’t say the name ‘cause I don’t want to ruin the fight—there’s a lot of politics involved in boxing—so I can’t really say the name. I can say that it’s gonna be a tough fight. He’s a tough kid; he’s got one loss, the loss that he had wasn’t a loss to a bum. He fought someone really, really good and ranked really high, so, it’s gonna be a tough fight.
JA: How would you describe this opponent? Is he more of a boxer/puncher or a slugger?
MH: His style is more, he’s a puncher, you know. I mean, he does got boxing skills, he’s got good movement.
JA: The one knock that has been leveled against you in the past was that you struggle when you receive pressure. There was evidence of this very briefly against Lamont Johnson when he put you in the corner once or twice and, for a moment there, it looked like you didn’t know what to do. But then, of course, you overcame and you knocked him out. What have you done to address that?
MH: Well, in my last fight, this guy put a lot of pressure on me and I was able to, you know, move more and make him miss a lot of punches. There’s time that the guy—every fight is different—with me, is if you see me on the ropes or something, I’m always cautious looking, you know, [with] my hands up…That Lamont Johnson guy, he started out dirty anyway: I tried to shake his hand and he threw a right hand at me. I just wanted to see, I didn’t want to get cut and that was my problem: I had a fight set up after that, so, I had to be more cautious in that ring. My last fight, though, I showed the people that not only could I take a punch, but I also could box and I could hit him, you know.
JA: Now is this move towards boxing more by design, then?
MH: You know, I just want to be different; I want guys that I fight to know that I can punch and box, not just ‘oh, he’s a hard puncher,’ you know. I don’t want them to think they know what they got to train for, when they’re gonna fight me. You know…as you go for more rounds, you have to box! You can’t throw all those power punches or you’re going to get tired. Boxing is basically a skill. Not everyone that hits hard is making it in boxing. You have to have boxing skills. That’s what I’m working on now.
JA: It appeared like you showed a new wrinkle in your arsenal in your last fight versus Lopez where you boxed with greater effect. Previously, as in your bout versus Johnson and a couple others, you appeared ‘right hand crazy.’ However, it seems like you’ve settled down a little bit more and shown more diversity. Would you say that’s accurate?
MH: Yes. Shorter punches, you know…I did before and probably a couple times against Lopez, I threw [an] overhand right or something like that, but before I was looking for a knockout right away and I changed that. So hopefully, I’ll keep doing that.
JA: For someone who has not seen you fight before, how would you describe your style?
MH: Well, you know, my style is just to fight. I go in there and have a lot of heart. I give a hundred percent every time I’m out there to fight. You know, I’m an aggressive boxer/fighter and I have power in both hands. You know, they’re going to be in for an exciting fight because the guy I’m fighting [this Friday] is similar.
JA: Can you tell us about your amateur background?
MH: I only had nine fights. To me, you know, it’s a dream for me to be fighting, especially for this fight; it’s for the Illinois State title. It means a lot to me, but more because it means I’ll be fighting with my son and my son’s going to be on the same card.
JA: Tell us more about that.
MH: His name is Joshuah Miguel Hernandez. That’s J-O-S-H-U-A-H Miguel Hernandez. And he’s the reason for—well—he’s my idol. So, I have three sons and I love them all the same. I love them to death! But he made it easy for me as a father and made it easier to be a good father for my other two boys.
He pushes me, you know. I used to box and watch boxing on TV and train myself and workout and, I was at one time, I was 220 pounds! Yeah, and I used to lift a lot of weights and I used to hit the heavy bag. And, my son, at two years old, I bought him his first pair of gloves—just those toy gloves-like something, you know—he got them on and started hitting the bag and stuff and I started seeing that he was getting more into it and at four years old, he was doing really good and at the age of five, I decided, well, you know, let me…take him to a gym.
We went to a gym, Windy City, and they couldn’t believe a five year old could move the way he did! [Renowned Chicago trainer] Sam Colona came up to me and asked me if I wanted to fight on an amateur show. I said, ‘Yeah,’ you know and I fought one time and after that, that was it. I mean, I started taking it really serious[ly]. I fought [in] the Golden Gloves at 175 pounds.
JA: How did that turn out?
MH: I lost to the guy that ended up winning it. I don’t want to say that I got robbed because amateur boxing style is—you know, a lot of people say I won the fight, but you know, it’s in the record book, he won, I lost, so let’s leave it like that. Then I fought the next year, I fought at 165 pounds in ‘the Gloves’ and we went to war. Me and this kid, we went three rounds. I had my nose broken training for the Golden Gloves and he ended up hitting me [in the nose] and making me bleed and I broke his nose in the second round. It was a tough fight. But, after that, my trainer told me my style of boxing was more ‘pro style’ and that I could probably do a lot better in the pros.
And he was right! You know, I mean, so far, so good. This will be my 12th fight, 10 and one with seven knockouts. So, it worked out good and I gave him a lot of credit because Sam Colona is one of the top trainers. I wish we could split him up sometimes because he has his schedule so hectic, I don’t know how he has time for himself! I think he’s real underrated in the boxing world. He’s done a lot for boxing.
JA: Didn’t Sam Colona help out Golotta?
MH: Yeah. You know, he’s not only a trainer, but he’s a friend. He’s a good person. You know, the way to my heart is through my son and he loves my son and so, it’s like a big happy family. He’ll be working the corner with me for my son; the first fight of the night will be my son and then my son will walk out with me for the main event and will be in my corner. It’s just a dream come true.
JA: Where now, assuming all goes well for the Illinois title championship, where do you plan to go from there?
MH: Well, after this fight, I plan on dropping down to light middleweight, 154 [pounds]. I came down, I fought at ’57, you know, ’59, so I want to give it a shot at ’54 or something. I just want to continue learning. That’s what you have to do, I believe.
You know, I don’t have that many amateur fights; I didn’t have a lot of training. I practiced by myself in a basement, but I’ve only been doing this for maybe two years, if that you know, and I’ve been a pro for one year with 11 fights, it’s gonna be 12 fights, which to me is a lot of fights.
You know, there’s a lot of pros out there that been pros for three years and only had 10, 11 fights. I just want to keep up, you know, see what happens. If everything goes well, then hopefully one day I can—Sam’s dream is to have a world champion and that’s my dream too. But, if it happens, hopefully it will happen with both of us together.
JA: Is there any specific reason you want to go down to the 154-pound weight class?
MH: Oh, you know, I’m not a tall guy…the money right now is at ’54 and ’60, I think, the real money in boxing. I mean, ’47 is good too. But, you know, I came down from a lot of weight and hopefully, I’ll just keep working hard.
JA: Just exactly how tall are you?
MH: 5’ 7”.
JA: Who have you been sparring with in preparation for your fights lately?
MH: I sparred with Jermaine Sanders, Guty Gutierrez…I sparred with Oscar Bravo—I sparred with some good guys for this fight—um, Fernando Hernandez…
JA: Did you mix it up with [local welterweight sensation] Luciano “El Gallo Bravo” Perez?
MH: Oh no, Luciano Perez, me and him, didn’t spar, He trains at JABB Gym, I train out at Windy City. But, I’ve sparred with him [before]; he’s a good guy, we worked together, so it’s good. I wish him a lot of luck, too. He’ll be fighting on the card too.
JA: What would you say your favorite punch is?
MH: I would say my left hook. I have a couple; if I catch you with a nice straight right hand, that’s a good punch too. I have a couple of them. I mean, hopefully, like I just said, I’ve got to keep working hard on my techniques. It’s all about discipline.
In my last fight, if you see—if you were at the fights—he went low a couple times and I never retaliated. I just kept my cool and kept boxing. He’s a very nice guy; I can’t take nothing from him, Luis Lopez. I give him a lot of credit for coming over here and fighting and giving me a chance to show people that I could fight with someone that could fight.
You know, the tape they sent me from him was nothing like his style of fighting, nothing at all, nothing at all! I mean, that’s what you’ve got to prepare yourself for, anything.
JA: You signed a contract this year with Dominic Pesoli and 8 Count Productions. There were rumors that you were contemplating going back with Hitz Boxing. What finally got you to commit to 8 Count?
MH: Um, it was, you know, like, it was nothing personal. Hitz did a lot for me, you know. He’s got a lot of good fighters in his stable, you know, and good friends of mine and, um, I just decided to go with Dominic because he’s a very great guy. You know, he helps me out a lot. [8 Count is] Good people and it’s in the City [of Chicago], so it’s convenient for me, my fans, to go into the city on Lake Shore Drive and you know, I think I made the right decision. Dominick has been really good to me. I have no complaints. I have learned a lot, you know, the fighters—the guys that I’ve fought—I learned a lot from them. So, I think I’m going okay right now with my career and I wouldn’t have nothing bad to say about anything.
My experience in boxing has been okay. I think there’s too much politics in boxing, though. I mean, that’s nothing new; I don’t see that changing anytime soon. But, I think I made the right decision. Dominic is—he’s a hard worker. Every time you see him, he’s out there hustling, trying to promote the shows, he’s out there passing flyers, putting up posters.
You know, Hitz…he’s got great shows coming up. I wish him the best of luck and let him—he’ll continue doing what he’s doing and hopefully he feels the same way about me. You know, we’ll leave it at that.
JA: Do you have a certain timeline you have to get to a certain level, like for instance world champion in five years?
MH: You know, like I’ve said, because I’ve had so many fights in a year…you know, this will be my first eight round fight. So, we’ll see from there. And, I mean, I’ve had people looking at me. So, maybe—we’ll see—sooner? Maybe by the end of the year, I won’t say a title fight—a world title fight—but you know a good fight for me, a TV fight or something like that. We’ll see what happens.
I don’t look forward to that until I get there. I believe that if I keep working out hard and keep focused on what I want to do, like I tell my son, Josh—he’s in school and everything, “If you want something, nobody’s going to give it to you. You’ve got to fight for it.” And, all these little kids that I see now, they’re growing up, you know, those are the people that you do things for. There’s just a kid who says, “Hey, I wanted to do this, but I can’t.” [I tell them,] No, you know, you could. You’ve got to focus and keep dreaming and it will come true.
JA: One other thing: you mentioned that some people were looking at you. Can you be more specific?
MH: Well, you know, like…guys from Top Rank or…on the same par with Main Events, that’s why I’ve got to keep fighting, doing my job, because they’re watching…down the line—hopefully I’ll get a shot to fight one of their guys.
Like I said, I’m not an Olympic fighter, I’ve never been to the Olympics, basically for me to do something in this sport, I gotta get lucky. You know, if there’s a title fight and a guy drops out and gets hurt, and they want to find someone with a decent record, you know, that they feel comfortable with, they say, “Okay, well this guy’s got a good record, you should be able to knock him out.” Well, you know, you come in and you could try to upset the guy. That’s all I’m waiting for.
You know, like I said, if I keep up the hard work…and I know that Sam’s [Colona] a real good guy and I want to stay with him through my boxing career and I believe if you have the right people in your corner, you’ll make it. So far, everything’s going good.
JA: Do you have any comments you’d like to add?
MH: No, that’s it. I want to really thank Dominic for making my dream come true, just for me fighting on the same card as my son and my fans out there, this fight’s for them. Without them, I wouldn’t get this opportunity. So, again, I want to thank Dominic for his help. I love him for giving me the opportunity to make my dream come true, fighting on the same card with my son. I dedicate this fight to him.
“Macho” Miguel Hernandez is headlining Dominic Pesoli’s 8 Count Production’s "Latin Explosion" this Friday, June 4, 2004. Also featured will be amateur star Rudy "El Cachorro" Cisneros, a two time Golden Gloves champion with an amateur record of 151 wins and 22 losses, debuting at welterweight. Welterweight knockout artist, Luciano “El Gallo Bravo” Perez (8, 0, 7 KO’s), polished welterweight Trinidad Garcia (2,0) and Miguel Hernandez’ oldest son, Joshuah “Little Macho” Hernandez will round out the night’s festivities. The junior Hernandez will be featured in a three round bout under a special amateur portion of the event.
The DePaul Athletic Center is located at 2323 N. Sheffield in the Lincoln Park section of Chicago. Doors open at 7pm and the first bell is at 8pm. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling 312-226-5800
Photo courtesy www.8countproductions.com
Replies: 2 Comments on this article
Congratualtions to Macho, the Illiniois State Jr. Middleweight Champ!!!
You and your son are what boxing AND family are all about!
I will continue to follow your career alongside your already 200 plus fans at every fight!
Wow. What a show! Thank you!
Posted by Congrats Champ!! @ 06/06/2004 02:41 PM EST
good luck to macho and little macho tonight!
we will all be there cheering them on!!
Posted by Macho fan @ 06/04/2004 02:24 PM EST
