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02/04/2006 Archived Entry: "‘Macho’ Miguel Hernandez: This One’s for Me!"
‘Macho’ Miguel Hernandez: This One’s for Me!
Miguel Hernandez Talks about his bout against Ryan Davis This Friday and more
By Juan C. Ayllon
Photos courtesy of Miguel Hernandez
Miguel Hernandez works the heavy bag at the gym.
CHICAGO, February 4, 2006 – In less than a week, popular Puerto Rican middleweight fighter "Macho" Miguel Hernandez will have his first shot at a championship. His opponent? One Ryan Davis. The title? The World Boxing Council’s USA Middleweight Title. The venue? The United Bank Center at the University of Miami, Florida.
At 18-3 and nine knockouts, and nine amateur fights, he will have his hands full. Although Davis possesses a similar professional record at 19-4-2 and eight knockouts, he sports a more extensive amateur background and an edge in the level of competition that he's faced.
Davis’ professional record includes a win over Juan Carlos Garcia for the WBE Intercontinental Title; a TKO loss to vaunted Mexican slugger Carlos Bojorquez in August; and a split decision loss to feared trial horse and gate keeper Anthony Ivory.
Hernandez’ record includes wins over Minnesota Middleweight Champions Butch Hajicek and Christopher Holt; Anthony Bowman; Jonathan Corn; and Rudy Lovato. In July, Hernandez lost a split decision to Kenny Kost. Hernandez also lost a split decision to Chris Troupe in 2003 and a unanimous decision to Shay Mobley in January 2005. Hernandez has never been stopped.
Speaking by telephone, Hernandez spoke about his upcoming bout, the camaraderie he enjoys with fellow Chicago boxers, and his wonderful boys.
JUAN AYLLON: Tell us about the lack of tapes available on Ryan Davis.
MIGUEL HERNANDEZ: It’s sad that it is that the guy’s got three or four tapes of my fights and I’ve got nothing of this kid. [However], I’m not frustrated. Actually, I’m more motivated. To me, it’s something that I have to do. You know?
JA: How has training been going?
MH: You know, I’ve just been dedicated to training and just every day doing everything that I have to do and sticking to it. I don’t change. You know, my running, everything’s been going good.
JA: Tell us more about your running schedule.
Well, I try to do four or five miles. But I do like different pace; some miles, I go a little faster. So, you know. Actually, that was, like, in the beginning, and then I slow down [at] maybe two miles, ‘cause it does take a toll on your legs.
JA: Do you do wind sprints as well?
MH: You know what? You can say, ‘yeah,’ because I got like a different pace. Like, one mile, I’ll go at a fast pace; then I’ll slow down for a mile; then I’ll pick it back up. I change it up.
JA: Are you still working with Dr. Stoxen, DC, with the strengthening exercises?
MH: Yes, I am. I still do my strength training over there—my abs, my legs, you know. So, I do like two days [a week].
JA: Tell us about your sparring.
MH: Well, sparring, I spar with everybody. Actually, I would like to thank the guys who sparred with me. I would like to say their names and stuff. I want to thank Jason Cook; Nick Cook, which is his brother; I sparred with Michael Walker one time, I want to also say thank you to him; Sean—I don’t know his last name, but Sean—who’s an amateur boxer, he helped me out; Ninos Abraham—he made his pro debut; Will; Jorge Gonzales—I sparred with him like twice. The kid’s a hell of a boxer. With him and Ninos—all the guys I sparred with—they were different.
Every sparring session was different. So, these guys [Jorge and Ninos, et al], they have a lot of amateur fights, mixed with professional fights, so they’re really talented. They really helped me. It’s a great learning experience. And, I’m really grateful for them. I wish them all the best.
JA: Tell us about how your dietary approach is working for you. Are you watching calories?
MH: Well, no, not really. I just try to stick to healthy foods, you know, like chicken, broccoli and vegetables. I really don’t eat too much vegetables, but I eat some broccoli and fish, and salad. So, basically, it’s just that you want to eat healthy.
Once you’re training, though, you can actually eat whatever you want. You’ve just got to watch the time; you can’t eat too late at night. And, you’ve got to make sure you eat, because that’s part of it. In order to train right, you have to eat.
JA: What time do you usually cut off eating?
MH: Well, like my last meal is at six [PM]. And then after that, if I get hungry, I have an orange or something.
JA: Assuming all goes well with this fight, what kind of plans do you have?
MH: Well, I’m not looking past this fight. This is very important to me. This fight is something for me, something that I look forward to.
And, you know, Ryan Davis is a very tough opponent. I respect anyone that gets in the ring, puts the gloves on, and goes to fight. And, it’s going to be a good fight.
After the fight, then we’ll talk about what’s next. As of right now, what’s on my mind is February 10th.
JA: Can you tell us about your relationship with Dominic Pesoli, promoter of '8 Count Productions?' I know that he’s helped you out an awful lot.
MH: Yes, Dominic, you know, he’s a promoter that tells you how it is. He puts it on the table, and he’s trying to make it out there as a promoter. He’s doing a hell of a job. And, to me, he’s honest. You know, it’s hard to find somebody like that in this sport nowadays.
He tells you like it is: ‘Hey, if you win this fight, this is what’s to go on from there.’ As fighters, we’ve got to do our part. He tries to give you the opportunity, and we’ve got to go out and do it. He can’t fight for us.
I’ve never had a problem fighting for him. And hopefully it stays like that. You know? You need good people like that around you, especially in boxing.
JA: You’ve mentioned before how a lot of the fighters in Chicago tend to band together and help each other out. Can you tell us more about that?
MH: You know what? It’s about time that it gets like that. There was a time when fighters were putting other fighters down from Chicago. And, some fighters would get mad because another fighter had more wins, or as an amateur in the Golden Gloves. But, we need to put that aside and try to help each other. There’s no one out here that volunteers and says, ‘Okay, I’m going to help you.’ No, we’ve got to look beyond this.
I’m one of those fighters that I try to talk to these younger guys coming up and say, ‘Hey, you know what? Right now, I’m living a dream. To me, I’m living a dream. I’m lucky to be doing what I do. But, I try to tell these guys, ‘Hey, you know what? Stay humble, because you’ve got to realize that this is a business.'
Sometimes, your pride, like, ‘Oh, this guy challenges me! I’m not going to turn down the fight. I’m going to fight!’ But, this is a business side to it. You know, there is pride involved in boxing. Of course, you don’t want to turn down a challenge. We fight. But, there’s a time that the smart decision is to turn something down which you’re not going to gain nothing from it. You know, if you’re going to take a fight that’s not going to get you to the next level or if you lose, you’re not going to gain anything from fighting just anybody.
And, there’s guys that train together in the gym that we can pick up a phone and call another gym and say, ‘Hey, I need some sparring. Is this guy available?’ And they say, ‘Yeah, okay. No problem. Let’s do this. Let’s spar.’
And that’s how we should do it. We need to help each other and I’m starting to see that now, more. I see a lot of Chicago fighters helping each other and being there for each other.
I wish all the Chicago fighters the best. You know what I’m saying? If they get a fight and they get paid a lot of money, and they make it, hey, God bless them. You know, I can’t sit there and worry about what they’re making. No, I’ve got to do it for me. I’m living a dream. And, if I can’t do it and they do it, hey, I can live. It’s like I accomplished it through them ‘cause they’re from Chicago.
Like, I fight on Friday, and I think David Estrada has got a fight on Saturday [against Renan St. Juste]. And he’s a good fighter. I feel good about him going out there and I think it is going to be an upset. If he fights and lets his hands go, the guy’s done. [Estrada’s] a good fighter.
And, it’ll not necessarily be an upset. You know, he could win! It’s not an upset because they’ve got the same records, and he’s going to his hometown, but David Estrada’s a hell of a fighter. So, if he fights and he fights hard, the guy’s in trouble.
JA: Can you tell us about your relationship with Estrada? I heard that you had a pact not to fight one another unless it’s for a million dollars.
MH: Well, you know what? That goes for me, it’s not worth fighting anybody—not should I say ‘not worth it,’ but as a business side—like, I wouldn’t gain anything fighting anybody from here. And we help each other so much, and we’re in the same gym training each other. Unless it was something for a shot at the world title or ranking to get to the next level; then, you’d be stupid not to give each other a chance because that’s helping each other.
But, if it’s just for a fight, no; as I say, I’m looking at this from the business side. You know, there’s two sides to this sport, and I train hard, and I dedicate myself to that. We live in Chicago. It’s kind of hard to say, ‘Oh, I fought that guy.’ It’s an awkward situation. It’s a small world as it is. You know, you go somewhere and you see someone that you fought, you don’t know how you’re going to take it, win or lose.
I look at it like this: right now, for me, I’ve got to try to make whatever I can out of it and leave it at that. You know, I could quit right now and say I’ve lived my dream.
Miguel Hernandez (left) with Jorge Gonzales
I just wish all these guys the best. There’s some good fighters here in Chicago, some real good fighters: Jorge Gonzales, he was a good amateur fighter, and as a pro, he’s going to be all right, you know; Ninos Abraham, this kid has a lot of heart; Michael Walker, same thing with him. You know, these guys, they fight! And, Ottu Holifield, man, that guy’s something else—great guy and he’s a good fighter.
We’ve just got to stay dedicated and help each other out and stay in the gym, because you never know when you’re going to get that phone call. You never know when someone is going to come out and challenge you. You just have to be ready.
JA: How is your cousin doing? I know you said before that he had some sort of cancer.
MH: Yeah, you know what? Like I said, he was diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer, which is skin cancer and, with the blessings of all the prayers, he’s still fighting it. But, he’s back to work. And, he’s actually going to go to the health club with me today! That’s just a blessing, and I love the guy. He’s a brother to me, he supports me, and I wish he could go with me. But, he just started working again, and he does what he can for his family. You know, and I just want him to keep up the fight. His name is Andy Giler.
He’s a big motivation for me, man. ‘Cause, to see a guy laying in bed, you know, and he was actually in a wheelchair for a little while. And, now, he’s up and walking like [it was] nothing. And, that’s a blessing. It’s having faith and not giving up.
And that’s a sport, too, where if we have faith and believe in ourselves, anything can happen.
JA: One last question: How is your son, Joshua, doing as far as his boxing pursuits?
MH: Yeah, he’s my oldest, Joshuah. Right now, he’s still training. Yeah, he does his shadow boxing and he works out.
I also want to congratulate him for his ‘Golden Honor Roll.’ He’s a straight A student. He makes my life so much easier as a father.
Now, he’s playing the saxophone. Whatever he wants to do, as long as it’s positive, I’m going to help him.
You’ve got to let him be a kid. If I take him to the gym everyday, he’ll lose motivation. So, whenever he wants to fight, I take him. He has natural skills. My son has one more fight than I had as an amateur. He’s 10 years old and he has 10 amateur fights.
The little ones are coming up behind him. Sometimes they go and they help each other. My middle son, Giovanni, he’s a southpaw, he’s a lefty, and he shadow boxes and goes to the gym a couple times with me, too.
They’re just born with it! The sport is great discipline. And, he’s a good leader, my son [Joshuah]. Because my two youngest ones, they look up to him and all my kids bring good grades.
My Giovanni’s in kindergarten, and my baby, Justin, is in pre-school. Their grades were all good. Giovanni gets numbers [on his report card]. Three is the highest; it’s like an ‘A’; twos are like a ‘B.’ He had all threes and maybe two number twos.
And Justin got his report card and he’s above average. You know, you’d be surprised. These kids help each other! They make it easy for me to be a father. So, I was blessed.
JA: That’s great! Do you have anything else you’d like to say?
MH: Yeah, the fans of Chicago, I want to tell them that I appreciate all their support to those who support me and those who want me to fail. ‘Cause for every fan, you have a fan out there that doesn’t like you. For the fans that support me, God bless them! I wish them the best in life. And, hopefully, they’re living their dream—if it’s through me, or if living their dream doing what they love to do—I wish them the best in life.
And, I’m going to give 110 percent to go out there and win this belt, and bring it back to Chicago.
You know, I always dedicate a fight to somebody. But, this fight’s for me. This fight’s a dream come true for me.
I’ve got a nice little crowd going to Miami, ‘cause they’re going to follow me out there. I want to thank all the fans that are going out there. My father’s going out there; my uncle, Cuco, is going; my best friend, Richie; Mike Kuntz; Joshua Nolasco; Ronnie Garcia; you know, and I want to thank all of them. They support me and they motivate me.
And this is a sport where you can’t guarantee anything. [But], like I said, I have a lot of confidence for this fight, and you can say I’m the underdog, but we’ll see what happens on Friday. I’m going to fight, man. That’s it. My thing is this fight. There can be no excuses. Hopefully, everything goes well!
And, I want to thank you, Juan, because you’re just a good person, and you really do try to help the fighters in Chicago. And, wish you the best, man! I wish you could be there, too, but I know how it is.
Miguel Hernandez (right) with his promoter, Dominic Pesoli, President
of 8 Count Productions (Juan C. Ayllon photo)
