Genaro Hernandez
Titles: WBA jr. lightweight champion 1991-1995, WBC jr. lightweight
champion 1997-1998
Record: 38-2-1
Born: May 10, 1966 in Mission Viejo, California (USA)
Years active: 1984-1998
Nickname: Chicanito
Genaro Hernandez inside and out of the ring can be compared to the great
Alexis Arguello. Inside the ring he lacked the crippling power that Arguello
had, outside of the ring he was every bit as good a ambassador for the sport
as could be found. His lanky body and long reach played havoc with opponents
who were forced battle their way through accurate jabs in order to work the
tall Hernandez body. Ring savy, punching accuracy and extremely good
conditioning led Hernandez to 2 different title reigns where he took on the
best fighters the division had to offer. Only the naturally larger Oscar
Delahoya and the younger and faster Floyd Mayweather could defeat the crafty
Californian. Hernandez fought tough opposition who came up from Mexico and
became a fan favorite at the Los Angeles Forum that features a notoriously
tough to please fight crowds. This was done in spite of the fact that he did
not have a knockout punch. En route to his first title shot Hernandez defeated
the very good Lupe Miranda and Felipe Orozco. Unlike most American champion
Hernandez was made to fight for the title on the road in front of a partisan
French crowd against Daniel Londas. It was a masterful performance as he out
jabbed his smaller opponent and forced a stoppage in the 9th round to take the
title back to the USA. Eight title defenses in the next 3 years made
Hernandez a pound for pound entrant in most boxing magazine ratings. Perhaps
the best performance came against former champion Raul "Jibero" Perez who was
felled with one of the most beautiful body shots I have ever witnessed. In all
his bouts Hernandez never seemed pressed and won by wide margins when he did
not knock his opponents out. In 1995 after a action filled TKO of Jorge Paez
Hernandez gave up his title to move up in weight and fight rising star Oscar
Delahoya who had refused to fight Hernandez at jr. lightweight. The fight was
a local rivalry that featured the harder hitting Delahoya against a gliding,
ringwise Hernandez's. The first 4 rounds were relatively even with Hernandez
giving more than he was taking before Delahoya took the attack to Hernandez
and broke his nose with a great hook. Hernandez was un-fairly criticized for
not coming out to fight Oscar Delahoya in he 7th round after his nose which
was previously broken in training for the fight, was broken again in over
15 places. Hernandez reply to his detractors was that they would not feed
his family if he could not fight again.....I agree. Any doubt about the
heart of Hernandez was wiped away with his brilliant defeat of the legendary
but admittedly aging Azumah Nelson, it was a fight that Hernandez dominated.
Hernandez jabbed and countered the slower Nelson and in spots willingly
exchanged with the Ghanian warrior. At the end of the 8th round Nelson
landed a punch clearly after the bell that landed flush on the neck and
throat area of Hernandez. Hernandez was informed that if he could continue
he would win the fight via foul, still Hernandez fought on and overcame some
rough spots during the rest of the fight to win a deserved decision. A ugly
mauling fight with Anatoly Alexandrov and exciting fights with Carlos
Hernandez and Carlos Cerena followed. Hernandez who never avoided the
challenge of other fighters then took on rising star Floyd Mayweather jr.
The fight was lopsidedly in favor of the younger and faster Floyd Mayweather
who took the fight to Hernandez from the beginning and did not allow the
taller Hernandez to create any kind of distance. Like many of the lighter
weight fighters it seemed that Hernandez had gotten old overnight. The
corner of Hernandez pulled Genaro out of the fight after the 8th round
leaving Hernandez to contemplate retirement. Hernandez a smart man decided
that he had enough of boxing and retired to the boxing commentary both,
where he works fights doing commentary for spanish language broadcast of
HBO and other channels. Hernandez was simply the best jr. lightweight of
the 90's and his boxing skills made him look nearly unbeatable at this
weight during stretches of his career.
Genaro Hernandez
Career Record: 38 W, 2 L, 1 D (17 K.O's)
1984
Sep 27 Dino Ramirez Inglewood, CA W 4
Nov 17 Martin Escobar Los Angeles W 4
1985
Jun 24 Dino Ramirez Irvine, CA W 6
Oct 19 Randy Lee Archuleta Stockton, CA W 6
Dec 12 Jose Luis Maytorena Bakersfield, CA KO 1
1986
Feb 17 Pablo Montano Phoenix KO 2
Feb 24 Terry Baldwin Irvine, CA KO 2
Mar 31 Larry Villareal Irvine, CA W 6
Apr 28 Jorge Valdez Irvine, CA KO 3
Jul 21 Terry Baldwin Irvine, CA KO 7
Sep 12 Lupe Miranda Las Vegas W 10
Dec 12 J.L. Ivey Las Vegas W 10
1987
Jan 31 Kenny Wyatt Irvine, CA W 10
1988
Apr 25 Juan Vega Irvine, CA KO 9
Jul 26 Jose Mosqueda Irvine, CA W 10
Nov 22 Refugio Rojas Inglewood, CA KO 6
1989
May 15 Ed Pollard Inglewood, CA W 10
Jul 31 Felipe Orozco Inglewood, CA W 10
1990
May 10 Leon Collins Tokyo KO 3
Aug 27 Richard Abila Inglewood, CA KO 3
Sep 22 Ben Lopez Inglewood, CA KO 6
Dec 6 Rodolfo Gomez Inglewood, CA KO 5
1991
Feb 11 Pedro Arroyo Inglewood, CA WDQ 10
Nov 22 Daniel Londas Epernay, France KO 9
(Wins WBA Jr. Lightweight Title)
1992
Feb 24 Omar Catari Inglewood, CA W 12
(Retains WBA Jr. Lightweight Title)
Jul 15 Masuaki Takeda Fukoka, Japan W 12
(Retains WBA Jr. Lightweight Title)
Nov 20 Yuji Watanabe Tokyo KO 6
(Retains WBA Jr. Lightweight Title)
1993
Apr 26 Raul Perez Inglewood, CA Tech D 1
(Retains WBA Jr. Lightweight Title)
Jun 28 Raul Perez Los Angeles KO 8
(Retains WBA Jr. Lightweight Title)
Oct 11 Harold Warren Los Angeles W 12
(Retains WBA Jr. Lightweight Title)
1994
Jan 31 Jorge Ramirez Los Angeles KO 8
(Retains WBA Jr. Lightweight Title)
Nov 12 Jimmy Garcia Mexico City W 12
(Retains WBA Jr. Lightweight Title)
1995
Mar 31 Jorge Paez Anaheim, CA KO 9
Sep 9 Oscar De La Hoya Las Vegas TKO by 6
(For WBO Lightweight Title)
1996
May 8 Javier Pichardo Indio, CA KO 5
Sep 28 Antonio Hernandez Fort Worth, TX W 10
1997
Mar 22 Azumah Nelson Corpus Christi, TX W 12
(Wins WBC and World Jr. Lightweight Titles)
Jun 14 Anatoly Alexandrov San Antonio W 12
(Retains World Jr. Lightweight Title)
Nov 20 Carlos Hernandez Los Angeles W 12
(Retains World Jr. Lightweight Title)
1998
May 16 Carlos Gerena Indio, CA W 12
(Retains World Jr. Lightweight Title)
Oct 3 Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Las Vegas TKO by 8
(Loses World Jr. Lightweight Title)