By Mario Ortega Jr. –
Without the support of one of the big-time promoters, fighters aiming to be successful in building their resumes often live by the motto,“I stay ready, so I don’t have to get ready.” Some of the best opportunities free agents receive come from accepting fights on short notice. In recent years, veteran light heavyweight Tony Hernandez has learned the value of staying ready, so when the opportunity came to fight this Saturday in Sacramento, California, “Pretty Boy” did not have to get ready and jumped at the chance.
Hernandez (6-3-1, 4 KOs) of Live Oak, California is a longtime venue favorite at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, where Saturday night’s event takes place, but he was not originally slated to appear as part of promoter Nasser Niavaroni’s “Showdown in Sactown” card and did not get the call until three weeks out.
“I was supposed to have one of my fighters make their debut on this card and he ended up getting hurt,” recalls Hernandez, who has owned and operated the Hernandez Boxing Academy in Yuba City for four years. “When that happened, Nasser asked if I could take his spot. So I ended up taking his spot and this is sort of a stay-busy fight for me, because I am looking for bigger fights in August and September.”
Before Hernandez can shift focus to those potentially more profitable bouts in the coming months, he will first take on Jawan Jackson (0-3) of Sacramento in a four-rounder on Saturday. Jackson sports a novice pro boxing record, but has also competed professionally in MMA and kickboxing.
“I’ve never heard of him,” admits Hernandez. “He’s almost 40 as well. I don’t know where he trains at. Maybe he is self-taught. He does have a lot of MMA fights though.”
The one potential hiccup that could even the playing field for the less experienced Jackson would be the fact that Hernandez enters the bout at less than 100 percent. When preparing to fight in late April, Hernandez injured one of his hands in sparring and has been nursing it ever since.
“I was sparring with Mike Guy and ended up hitting him on the top of the head,” recalls Hernandez. “So I laid off of it before I was offered a fight in Florida and ended up taking it. I was sparring with Joeshon James and hurt it again when I hit him on top of the head and then the elbow.”
With a late August or September return originally planned, Hernandez has not been sparring since reinjuring himself in order to preserve his hand.
“After that sparring, my hand was all swollen, and I figured I needed to let it heal,” explains Hernandez. “I couldn’t just keep hurting it, saying yes to fights and keep getting hurt. I wasn’t going to fight until September [until this fight was offered]. I haven’t sparred for this fight to be honest. I’m nursing the hand still. I’m just basically going off of being active and my experience, having been fighting for so long.”
One of the benefits of experience is the opportunity to learn from your past mistakes. Hernandez has gained a better understanding of his body and how to manage his weight between fights.
“I was walking around at about 190,” explains Hernandez, who had previously begun camps, such as the one before Kenny Lopez Jr., as high as 225-pounds. “I’ll be coming in at 175 [on Saturday]. Right now I am about 183, so I only have about seven pounds to cut. I will just be sitting in a hot bath on Friday morning and drop the rest of the weight. This hasn’t been too bad with such a short notice.”
Without the ability to spar, for the fear of reinjuring his hand, Hernandez has concentrated on other areas of preparation.
“For a three-week notice, I feel pretty good,” exclaims Hernandez. “I was running the mountains before [I was offered the fight] and staying active. I had hurt my hand so I was taking some time off, but still trying to stay active.”
Should Hernandez come out victorious with two healthy hands he could potentially be back in action before the end of the month on the Amari Jones-Daniel Echevarria undercard in Oakland, California.
“Nasser might put me on to stay busy,” says Hernandez of the August 31st event, which takes place at the Oakland Marriott City Center. “I was supposed to fight Amari, but he didn’t want to fight me at a catch-weight of 165. He wanted me to get down to 160. So we’ll see. Nasser was originally going to try and set that up for August, but maybe it is a possibility for September 21st.”
Hernandez last touched the 160-pound middleweight limit in February of 2020. In the six fights since, including this coming Saturday, Hernandez has competed between 168- and 175-pounds. To get down to 160-pounds, to meet Amari Jones at Thunder Valley Casino, would be quite the undertaking.
“If I could make 160 by September that would be nice, but that’s a tough one,” admits Hernandez of a potential Amari Jones fight. “I’d have to do some serious training for that one.”
Before he can shift gears and look toward August or September, Hernandez has the task at hand: win on Saturday and leave the ring healthy.
“I am just hoping for a good show,” says Hernandez, who always draws a boisterous crowd in Sacramento. “I haven’t knocked anybody out since [May 2022,] so I am hoping for a knockout. I am going to push the pace and see how my hand feels. I am expecting this to end and it won’t go the whole four rounds, that is for sure. I’d just be playing with my food at that point.”
After Saturday, Hernandez’s meals could potentially get much bigger in the ring, while also getting smaller out of the ring.
Tickets for Saturday night’s event, promoted by Upper Cut Promotions, are available online at uppercutpro.com
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com
