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08/23/2006 Archived Entry: "Jose Hernandez: a Large Man in a Small Boxer’s Body Looks to Win Friday and Beyond"
Jose Hernandez: a Large Man in a Small Boxer’s Body Looks to Win Friday and Beyond
Photos and story by Juan C. Ayllon
Jose Hernandez stands in front of his bar, "Copas" in Round Lake, Illinois
ROUND LAKE, Ill., August 23, 2006 – Standing 5’ 8”, Jose Andres Hernandez comports himself at the slender weight of 126 lbs, which is way below the recommended low end of 140 lbs. for a small framed man his height, according to a height and weight chart put out by www.healthchecksystems.com .
An exciting featherweight boxer with a record of 20-3 with 13 knockouts, 30 year-old Hernandez manages to cram a whole lot more into his compact frame than just 126 lbs. of prime boxer. Not only does he have championship ambitions, but he’s also a college student studying to become a lawyer and the owner of a successful and expanding business. And, did I mention he had a quick wit?
“People used to see my truck parked outside the bar everyday and they’d start saying, ‘Is everything okay, Jose?’” said Hernandez. “I’d play a game with them and say, ‘I need to be there everyday and can’t live without it.’ They’d keep seeing my truck there and saying things and, finally, I’d tell them, ‘Hey, I OWN the bar! I need to be there every day to make money!’”
Hernandez will have to keep his wits about him this Friday, when he fights rugged Philadelphian Lenny DeVictoria (8-4-0 with 2 KO’s), whose record is deceptive and who packs a hard right hand, at the Aragon Ballroom in the main event.
On January 27, 2006, Hernandez fought and lost a scintillating bout against Antonio Escalante in which the two traded knockdowns and Hernandez ultimately lost by a close, but unanimous decision.
Since then, Hernandez won an eight round unanimous decision over Anthony Martinez in May and looks to continue his winning ways.
Meeting me at his bar, “Copas,” located in Round Lake Beach, Jose Hernandez talked at length about training, his upcoming fight, his business, his friendship with WBC Interim Lightweight champion David Diaz, his aspirations in law and boxing in Chicago.
JUAN AYLLON: How are you doing today, just several days before your fight?
JOSE HERNANDEZ: Well, just for now, just cooling down. Today, we did our last training. We did about six, eight rounds on pads with Mike Garcia. We’re in good shape and we’re just trimming down on weight right now. I’ve got about a pound and a half to go. Usually, just drying out overnight will do it.
JA: How has training been going for the last couple weeks?
JH: Well, definitely, the last training’s been tough. Of course, the last week was the toughest. We were working on a lot of speed, a lot of power, now. We’re tired of going on decisions and earlier in my career, I had a lot of knockouts. Now, it’s time to get back that old Jose, with that anger in there, and more knockouts in my career.
JA: How long was camp this time around?
JH: This time, it was five weeks. I mean, I always maintain myself in shape. I never stop training. I’m usually running and everything, but camp was five weeks for this fight.
Well, usually a lot of fighters like to come in slow and workout little by little. I don’t. Once I get into the gym, I work hard. I start with eight, ten rounds on the heavy bag instead of moving around, stretching, like a lot of fighters do. I go straight into hard training.
JA: Describe a typical day when you do some sparring.
JH: When I do sparring, for this fight I’ve been sparring from six to 10 rounds. Last week, I did a total of 28 rounds sparring—10 rounds, 10 rounds and then on Friday, I finished with eight rounds. Then, we go onto the heavy bag four or five, six rounds. Of course, my shadow boxing’s very important. My dad’s belief is that my speed comes from shadow boxing. So our shadow boxing isn’t just warming up. It’s just a lot of punches and a lot of hard punches while shadow boxing.
JA: And whom are you sparring with this time around?
JH: Well, this time around, I sparred with a few amateurs. There was also a lot of sparring for me and David Diaz getting ready for his [WBC Interim Lightweight Title] fight. So, we kind of worked out a lot together.
After that, I got a few other amateurs. This time, we were more focused on speed than instead of a lot of power. The power came on the heavy bags.
JA: What did you draw from your experiences sparring with David Diaz, who is now the WBC Interim Lightweight Title holder? Can you tell us any interesting stories?
JH: He’s strong. I mean, every time we spar with David Diaz, I tell them, he’s very strong, every time he throws uppercuts! It’s not surprising at all when he caught Santa Cruz with an uppercut because that’s pretty much what I watched myself for with David Diaz, is his uppercut. He’s a very strong fighter inside.
JA: And how many miles are you running every week?
JH: During the week, I run between three to four miles, sometimes five miles. For this fight, actually, they wanted me to settle down on my running. I actually didn’t run much this last week. They want me stronger in my legs. My typical last week would be four three and on Monday, we’d run four miles; Tuesday, run two miles; and then finish off with three miles on Wednesday. They actually took me off of running because my legs were feeling a little tired this time.
JA: So, actually, you’re concerned about over-training now?
JH: Yeah, well now, we’re trying different things. Now, that we plan to, in the following year, to hit the top contenders, we’re looking at how a world champion would train. So, we’re trying to get me stronger the last days before the fight.
JA: And, how is diet playing into this?
JH: You know, like I said, I’m never out of shape. If I come down, the most I go up is 138, 139 lbs. That’s off of training. Usually my walking weight while I’m training is 133. Weight has never been an issue with me, except in the Escalante fight, which was really tough for me to drop to 124 ½.
JA: Tell us more about that.
JH: The difficulties were that I haven’t been 124 ½ since 1997, when I fought in the Nationals as a 125-pounder. Never again! Every time they brought an opponent, my opponents usually came in heavy. In the beginning of my career, they were always 135, 133, [and] I was 126, 127 fighting heavier opponents. So, I never really had watched my weight during the beginning of my career.
[Versus] Escalante, dropping down to 124 was really tough for me. It’s something I’d never done. The last three weeks, I usually eat my regular fish, chicken, steak throughout the week. For Escalante, it was definitely a lot less food, a lot less everything. It was really tough for me. It was something new.
I was completely dehydrated by fight weigh in. But, I was still strong, so we had no excuses. He was just in better shape than I was that night.
JA: Do you want a rematch?
JH: I definitely want a rematch. I don’t think the rematch should happen at 124 again. I think we’ll wait a little bit ‘till he grows a little. He’s only 20 years old. So, we hopes he builds up a little bit and comes up to featherweight and hopefully get a rematch. I know he won’t beat me again. I mean, that night, it was definitely conditioning. I don’t think he was a better fighter. I just think he was better conditioned.
JA: What can you tell us about your last three fights and lessons learned from each bout?
JH: Well, definitely, it was a lesson if we go back to Escalante because it was definitely a turning point and a different view in my career after Escalante’s fight—[we’re working with] more punches, harder punches. Now, we’re working with 'The Fly' Garcia, who was undefeated in his time [as a professional fighter]. [We’re working on] great movement, great defense, I’m not a still fighter anymore as I used to be. I would just sit and bang and bang. You go back to Escalante, I should have moved more, and I stayed in and banged with him.
I definitely got more movement with ‘The Fly’ Garcia, [and] a lot of defense. You know, just now, I don’t get hit as much. If you recall my last fight, for the first time in a lot of my fights, I didn’t have a black eye, which was good. That means that the defense that the defense with Mike Garcia is finally working!
JA: What do you know about your opponent, Lenny DeVictoria, whom you’re fighting on Friday night?
JH: He’s coming out strong. Supposedly, he’s coming out already in weight. I know that he’s got a good right hand. That was always a big problem for me in the beginning of my career for me, catching the right hand. Now, with ‘The Fly’ Garcia, I see a lot of things, I move a lot, I’m cooking on my feet, so I get away from a lot of punches now.
We’ve been working on a lot of speed. Back in the day, it was all hard punches—hit ‘em hard, hit ‘em hard. Now, it’s just 'you don’t have to hit ‘em hard all the time.' Now it’s about moving, setting him up, so hopefully, his right hand won’t be no problem for me. And so, pretty much, we’re worried about his right hand, [and] his left hook. I know if he stands with me, he’s going to be in a lot of problems if he bangs with me, ‘cause I’m hitting as hard as I’ve ever hit.
JA: Can you tell us more about your specific preparation for this fight?
JH: That’s pretty much it. I’m more conditioned, like I said, I’ve been sparring 10 rounds. For this fight, I’m only fighting eight, and we’re definitely ready to go 100 percent for eight rounds.
JA: Now, tell us a little bit about your involvement with ‘Copas,’ your bar.
JH: Yes, we bought ‘Copas’ four years ago. It’s an unbelievable story because I used to work for a cell phone company across the street. So, I would see a little ‘For Sale’ sign all the time. And the friend of mine who used to work with me at the cell phone company, I would see the sign and I would tell him, ‘You know what? I’m going to go over there and ask him how much it is.’ He’d say, ‘Ah, you’re crazy, you’re crazy!’
Back then, I had no money or nothing. I was just another kid coming out of high school and stuff like that and I had a few classes in college. I had no money and then, so I came over and Greg Mahoney, which was the previous owner, he said if I was interested, I could talk with him about the price. It was too much for me. It was $237,000. And $237,000 at my age, back then—I was 25 years old then—there was no way I would come up with that money.
So, I went back to the phone company, and he actually followed me, and he said, ‘Jose, I’m willing to work on the price and I’m willing to give you a land contract if you can’t get it financed.’ And, once he gave me the land contract, I mean, it was the opportunity of a lifetime. As a matter of fact, we kept him on the land contract. We could have bought him out by now, but we kept him on the land contract for the favor he did for me.
He actually gave me an unbelievable business. Without him, I couldn’t have done this at all. I’m the owner, and my father’s the owner. We own 50 percent each. The small money that we came up with to give Mahoney a down payment, I actually sold my Mustang Cobra to buy this business! Luckily, customers have never failed. They kept coming and coming!
JA: Now, you said earlier that you don’t like to work here during training. That’s because of the smoke?
JH: Well, it’s the smoke, it’s the atmosphere. I’m usually in bed by 10, at latest 11 o’clock at night [during training]. The bar closes between two and—on weekends—at three o’clock in the morning. There’s no way I can be here and get up at six, seven in the morning and go run. There’s no way I could do it.
Jose Hernandez with one of his regular customers
So, definitely we have it in business to become a world champion, and we do whatever it takes. I mean, I have a great family! My sister, she’s the one that manages this place, so without her, I couldn’t do what I do with boxing.
JA: Assuming all goes well on Friday, what’s your next step?
JH: We plan to fight two more times [this year]—either October, November or December. Now, from my understanding, the next one should be a TV fight.
From my understanding from my manager and Dominic, the beginning of the year, we’re going to hit top contenders—which is a lot of them out there that are truly ready to go get a good chance. I mean, there’s a lot of undefeated fighters. The good thing about featherweight fighters is they’re all brand new. There’s no Barrera’s, and no Pacquiao’s. There’s nobody that would influence anybody’s scores, the judges’ eyes, or even the crowd’s eyes. It’s all fair new featherweights.
JA: And do you see yourself staying in the featherweight division, or do you see yourself moving up somewhere else?
JH: Right now, I’m staying at featherweight. I have no problem making the weight. I mean, if it came down to it, I could get on the weights and go up if another plan came up. Definitely a fight that I tell my managers all the time, ‘Manny Pacquiao is meant for me—the way he fights, the way I fight.’ He would definitely have problems with my right hand, which is my bread and butter.
JA: Now, are you getting much experience going out of state to get sparring with other fighters?
JH: We have not. That’s truly something that we talked about with my manager, Sam Colonna. For now, we’re going to get sent out to Freddie Roach for a couple weeks, and if everything goes well, we’ll stay a little bit longer.
JA: Will you spar with Pacquiao?
JH: Well, Pacquiao’s in his camp; Robert Guerrero, which is top ranked in the featherweight division is down there—he’s a southpaw.
And, we’re very fortunate because we’re sparring with David Diaz [who is a southpaw, or a left handed hitter]. A lot of the top ranked fighters in the featherweight division are southpaws, which is really weird. We’ll do what we’ve got to do.
JA: On a personal note, is there any special woman in your life?
JH: No, right now, there isn’t. I’m really focused on business, and I’m focused on my career. I’m also going to school to eventually become a lawyer. So, I’ve got a lot of things in my hand right now. I mean, I do go out, I do enjoy myself, but right now, the single life is best for me.
JA: Are you currently enrolled in a four-year school?
JH: Right now, I’m at CLC [College of Lake County] in Grayslake. Eventually, I plan to transfer over to DePaul to get my law degree. And hopefully by the time I’m 36, 37 years old, I become a lawyer, which was another plan.
I don’t like to argue at all; I don’t like to get into arguments, but I’ve always found myself finding a way out [using my verbal skills]. As a matter of fact, not even being a lawyer, a lot of tickets that I have gotten over the years, I’ve actually fought them out. I like the fact that you can go and defend yourself.
I don’t want to get into criminal law. I definitely want to get into immigration or human rights. To me, it’s not about the money. I’ve got the business now, and we’re working on a bar in Fox Lake. So, it’s never been about the money.
Including the world champion, I already got my business, which I planned since I was younger. So, now I’m working on my law degree and my world title!
The world title is definitely something of pride that we carry. It’s me, my dad and my manager, Sam, and Mike now. It’s a world title that we want. I mean, now we have a world champion [in Chicago], which is David Diaz, we want to follow in his footsteps.
JA: Has he given you any inside tips that will help you?
Well, definitely. I mean, me and David, we created a friendship now and, with each fight, I motivate him. He actually came in yesterday to my workout and pushed me like I pushed him. So, with David, knowing that David Diaz was able to do it, it motivates me completely. It’s happened. It can happen in Chicago.
Back in the day, Chicago was the ‘Mecca of Boxing.’ There’s no reason Chicago shouldn’t be back like it used to be. They have great talent here. So, hopefully, we can be another—not just Vegas, not just New York—[but] Chicago, known as the best city to fight in!
JA: Any last thoughts for the readers?
JH: I just hope they just come out and see [the fights] and hopefully, they’re going to see a new Jose. Now, that I’ve got different trainers, I’m not going to get hit as much, and hopefully, [they'll] see the beginning of a world champion.
* * *
Promoter-- 8 Count Productions
Venue--Aragon Ballroom, 1106 W. Lawrence Ave, Chicago
Doors 7pm, First Bell 8pm
Tickets--Starting at $25, Available by Calling 312-226-5800
TV--No Television Broadcast
