Nico Hernandez Fighting for 1st World Title

Published by Shawn C.

*PARK CITY, KANSAS* (October 23, 2017) – 2016 Olympic bronze medalist *Nico
Hernandez* will be fighting for his first professional title on Saturday,
December 2, when he takes on Hungarian invader *Jozsef “Little Red” Ajtai*in
the eight-round main event for the vacant International Boxing Association
(IBA) Flyweight Championship, headlining “KO Night Boxing: Gold & Glory” at
Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas.

“KO Night Boxing: Gold & Glory” is a presentation of KO Night Boxing LLC.,
in association with Hartman Arena, and sponsored in part by *Twister City
Harley-Davidson* *Metro PCS, Mort’s Cigar Bar* and *Jimmy Egg.*

The action will be taped live for future airing on CBS Sports Network.

The 21-year-old Hernandez (3-0, 2 KOs), fighting out of Wichita, will be
fighting in a scheduled eight-round bout for the first time. His three pro
fights to date were all scheduled for six rounds and each was held in
Kansas, the last two in his second home, Hartman Arena.

In his last fight this past September 23rd, Hernandez was forced to fight
late replacement *Kendrick “Uprising” Latchman* who outweighed the
celebrated American Olympian by more than 10 pounds. Hernandez won a
six-round unanimous decision by scores of 60-54 and 59-55 twice.

Despite being younger than Hernandez by almost a year to the day, Ajtai
(19-9, 12 KOs) has already had 28 pro fights, including a full 10-round
distance loss by decision last year to two-time Olympic gold medalist *Shiming
Zou*, the former World Boxing Organization (WBO) flyweight world champion.

“By far, Nico is fighting the toughest opponent of his pro career,”
Hernandez’ promoter *John Andersen* (“KO Night Boxing LLC) said. “Ajtai has
much more experience as a pro than Nico, plus he went the distance against
a two-time Olympic gold medalist, Zou. Ajtai is a busy fighter with a good
knockout ratio (63%). This fight is going to tell us a lot about Nico,
especially his power at 112 pounds.

“Nico fighting for a title in only his fourth pro fight proves that all our
hard efforts of KO Night Boxing and Team Nico has paid off quickly and
we’re grateful that the IBA has given him this great opportunity. I didn’t
realize the high quality of champions the IBA has had in the past and we’re
proud that Nico can someday join this group. In the flyweight division,
Nico may enter world title fight shot discussions earlier than I had
originally thought, which was in his third year as a pro. An impressive
performance against Ajtai could position him for a world title fight next
year with less than 10 fights under his belt.”

“We’re excited to have an American Olympian fighting for our first Americas
title,” IBA President *J.C. Courreges* added. “Nico Hernandez is an Olympic
bronze medalist and we’re hopeful that he will develop into an IBA world
champion in the not too distant future. His amateur pedigree speaks for
itself and we’re very happy to have this young man fighting for the IBA
Americas title.”

IBA world champions during the past quarter-century include
Hall-of-Famers *Oscar
de la Hoya*, *George Foreman*, *Roberto Duran *and *Arturo Gatti*, as well
as stars such as *Roy Jones, Jr.,* *Bernard Hopkins*, *Shane Mosely*, *James
Toney*, *Mikkel Kessler*, *Eric Morales*, *Diego Corrales*, *Jose Luis
Castillo*, *Glen Johnson* and *Antonio Tarver*.

Other fights on the “Gold & Glory” card will soon be announced. All fights
and fighters are subject to change.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Tuesday, Oct. 24 @ 12 p.m. CT) at the Hartman
Arena box office and www.ticketmaster.com/venue/50551?Brand=Hartman
.
Prices are $115.00 (VIP), $75.00, $50.00, $35.00, $25.00 and $20.00 (prices
do not include service fees) .