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In support of this weekend’s
pay-per-view main event from the MGM Grand Garden Arena is a bout for the WBA
interim super featherweight title between Bryan Vasquez and Jose Felix, in what
looks to be a competitive fight (at least on paper). Not much is known about
Vasquez, who hails from Costa Rica, but Joe Hernandez, one of the best bird
dogs in all of boxing and a character you can only find in this sport, is
working in his corner.
You couldn't make this guy
up if you tried. And when you do stories on relatively unknown boxers like
Vasquez, it's a Godsend to have men like Hernandez fill the blanks in for you.
“The young man has been out
of his country on maybe three, four, five occasions,” explained Hernandez this
past Friday afternoon at the Bristow Park Gym in the city of Commerce. “One of
those occasions was against [Takashi] Uchiyama in Japan where he lost by eighth
round knockout. Other than that, he's never really had any exposure anywhere
internationally as an amateur or as a professional.”
Vasquez has a record of 32-1
(17) and while it looks impressive, it's one in which the “1” stands out more
than the “32” based on how Vasquez was handled until the respected Japanese
titlist dispatched him in Tokyo on New Year’s Eve 2012.
Hernandez, as blunt as ever,
says of that fateful night, “It was an amateur versus a pro. I mean, in Costa
Rica, you never fight anybody. [Vasquez]’s got 32 wins right now, 28 dead
bodies, maybe three C-minus fighters and maybe one great fighter. He went in, ‘What
am I doing here? Am I back home? Is this a preliminary fight? Is this an
amateur fight?’ No, it was just lack of experience. He learned so much from
that particular fight but the improvement that he made is what amazes me.”
And yeah, “Uncle Joe” is
all-in with Vasquez.
“‘Stevie Wonder,’” said Joe,
who usually addresses this scribe with this moniker, “the only time you will
see me bragging or stating what type of fighter you have is when we have a great
young talent. I think he's a great fighter if he can take a shot, number one, if his discipline doesn't
change, if he's not lazy - he's kinda lazy in his training - but as far as
natural, God-given talent, I remember a young man named [Francisco] Bojado. I
had the media, the promoter, the public on the alert.”
(And more on the
long-forgotten “Panchito” later.)
Hernandez, who could sell
ice to Eskimos, is now on a roll.
“OK, I'm going to put
everyone on the alert again. This is a young man with a lot of talent. I mean, he's got everything: offense, defense; he's
got everything in boxing," Hernandez states with conviction. Yeah, you
want to roll your eyes because, after all, every manager claims to have the
next Sugar Ray Robinson but it’s hard to argue with Hernandez's track record as
he was instrumental in bringing up the likes of Edwin Valero, Mike Anchondo,
Abner Mares and Daniel Ponce de Leon (with whom he had a bit of a love/hate
relationship. Nobody could talk up Ponce de Leon quite like Hernandez and yet
be so frustrated by his usual awkward performances that failed to live up to
Hernandez’s expectations).
But to this day, Hernandez
says Bojado was the best talent he ever came in contact with. And yeah, this
reporter wasn't just on the bandwagon; he was driving it. And, well, Bojado was
more Ryan Leaf than Peyton Manning. He’s Hernandez's greatest disappointment in
boxing.
“I think so. Bojado had
everything to become, maybe not a money maker like Oscar De la Hoya but if
there was anybody other than a gold medalist who's coming out of the Olympics
to make a lot money - it would've been Bojado. I still feel in my heart that is
the best fighter I have ever...ever seen in my life.”
So where did it all go
wrong? Why was this guy derailed on his way to Canastota?
“lt was simple; people just
don't understand he was born with so much talent but his discipline wasn't
there 100 percent,” said Hernandez of the can’t-miss prospect - who did just
that: he missed. “But it's not what people think on the account of money or bad
luck or whatever. No. He fell in love with a young girl - I think a 15-year old
girl - and that's when his career started going down.”
Hernandez has been off the
grid the past few years. This is the most interesting sport to cover because of
individuals like him. He's funny; he's eccentric and he’s an individual who can
be both charming and frustrating at the same time - but he'll always make you
laugh. Boxing isn't just about the fights but the people who make up the fabric
of the sport. Hernandez is someone you can only meet in this racket and you're
not really a part of the boxing community in Southern California till he
addresses you as “Son.”
It's rarely a dull moment with this guy and when he decides to take on a
fighter, he wears many hats from supervising the trainers to monitoring their
strength-and-conditioning to handling their diets and serving as their de facto
publicist. Hernandez is a one-stop shop for fighters. After Vasquez had
finished his days sparring, Hernandez pulls out a fat wad of hundred dollar
bills and starts to pay the sparring partners for their work. “Oh, I tell ya,
Stevie,” he says with a sigh as he looked around the gym. “I blow so much money
on this sh*t.”
You can't help but chuckle
as he states this (yeah, it's a funny comment but the way he says it makes it the
funniest thing you'll hear all week). For this Puerto Rican, this is very much
a labor of love. It's not so much what he does; in many ways, it's what he is -
a boxing guy. This is why he's back.
“After what, five, six,
seven years in Costa Rica working on a project – really, between you and I, I'm
going on 70, 71 - but I think I look like a 30-year-old in boxing,” Hernandez
says as only he can. “But it's like heroin - I'm an addict. But the thing is I
will not come back unless I see potential in a young man. This young man has
got everything to be a superstar. Top Rank [Promotions], HBO, the press and the
media, the public: watch this kid; I'm telling you. I'm not saying he's going
to win. You can't predict if he's going to win; I'm not saying he's going to be
knocked out or whatever. You're going to see a great fighter.”
As you see Vasquez work,
it's obvious he has talent. He has two-fisted power and the ability to
switch-hit (being a natural southpaw who boxes regularly out of the orthodox
style). At 26, he's just entering his physical prime but in Felix, Vasquez is
facing a young, undefeated prospect at 26-0-1 (21).
“Watch this; this kid is tough. He's a mover; he's a boxer. He can jab; he can
be difficult. He can hit with the left; he can hit with the right - but y’ know
what, Stevie? That's a good fighter,”
Hernandez says of their opponent.
“But this [Vasquez] is a helluva fighter.”
SOE
My latest contribution to www.SportsOnEarth.com on how Manny Pacquiao is
fighting to retain his pay-per-view status and his market value this weekend
versus Tim Bradley:
TNR
Here's the latest episode of
“The Next Round” with Gabe Montoya and Yours Truly:
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