Olympian Nico Hernandez remains undefeated

Published by Shawn C.

PALM CITY, Kansas (September 24, 2017) – The name of last night’s “KO Night
Boxing: Step Up” event certainly was appropriate as 2016 Olympic bronze
medalist *Nico Hernandez* had to overcome a major obstacle to remain
undefeated at Hartman Arena in Palm City, Kansas.

“KO Night Boxing: Step Up!” was a presentation of KO Night Boxing LLC., in
association with Roc Nation Sports and Hartman Arena, sponsored by Mort’s
Cigar Bar, Jimmy Egg and Twister City Harley-Davidson. The action was taped
live for future airing on CBS Sports Network.

St. Louis southpaw *Kendrick “Uprising” Latchman* outweighed regular
flyweight Hernandez by more than 10 pounds when the two fighters entered
the ring because Hernandez’ scheduled opponent, *Basyzbek Baratov* (2-1-2),
abruptly pulled out of the fight after the weigh in due to a contractual
disagreement. Hernandez weighed in at 113 pounds, Baratov was 112, which
was the contracted weight. The Kansas Athletic Commission, however,
automatically allows one-pound over for all non-title fights. Baratov
refused to fight but Latchman agreed to fight at a 125-pound catchweight.
Hernandez gained four pounds and the fight was on.

Wichita hero Hernandez was unmoved by the late change, largely due to his
standout amateur career, in which his opponents often changed at the last
moment. Latchman (1-5-1, 1 KO) is a pro boxer-MMA hybrid fighter who is 6-3
(5 KOs) in MMA, including a 55-second stoppage of 14-7-1 *Cody Land* this
past July.

Latchman buzzed Hernandez in the first round, much to the chagrin of the
Hernandez’ loud hometown crowd. The U.S. Olympian displayed a good chin and
went on to win a six-round unanimous decision to improve his pro record to
3-0 (2 KOs).

“They (his corner and fans) were nervous,” the 21-year-old Hernandez said
after the fight, “but I wasn’t. My coach (father *Lewis Hernandez*) told me
to feint and go in, but I lunged a little too much. Hey, I’m staying in my
division (flyweight) before moving up in weight.”

“Nico had to step up, fighting a new opponent on 24-hour notice, along with
the difference in their weights,” promoter *John Andersen* commented.
“Everything turned out okay but it wasn’t an easy fight. My palms were a
little sweaty in the first round when he got hit hard, but Nico pulled out
the win and he’ll be an even better fighter because of this experience. His
father said Nico had never been hit like that before. It was a good card
and the crowd was really into it.”

KO Night Boxing LLC announced that Hernandez would return December 2 to
headline another show at Hartman Arena.

USBA No. 2- rated featherweight *Tramaine “The Might Midget” Williams* (13-0,
5 KOs), fighting out of New Haven (CT), cruised to his 13th victory without
a defeat, taking a one-sided 10-round unanimous decision over *Derrick
Murray *(13-3, 5 KOs), in the co-featured event.
Key West, FL welterweight *Armando “The Gentleman: Alvarez* (17-0, 11 KOs)
remained undefeated, winning a 10-round unanimous decision against
Hungarian champion *Gabor “Squirrel” Gorbics *(23-8, 14 KOs) in a
competitive Special Welterweight Attraction. Alvarez is the WBC Latino
welterweight title holder.

Undefeated Chinese heavyweight prospect *Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang* (18-0, 14
KOs), the reigning WBO Oriental champion, needed only 2:28 to stop
veteran *Byron
“The Bear” Polley*(30-22-1, 13 KOs). Zhang, as well as Williams, are
promoted by Roc Nation Sports.

In the most dramatic fight of the night, Los Angeles heavyweight *Scott
Alexander* (13-2-2, 7 KOs) rebounded from being decked, as well as a
pre-fight cut, to knockout 361-pound *Richard “Silverback” Carmack* (15-12-1,
12 KOs) in the second round. Alexander suffered a cut on his shin that
resulted from a step breaking as he entered the ring.

Milwaukee junior middleweight *Akeem Black* (3-1, 1 KO) won three of four
rounds on all three judges’ scorecards for a four-round unanimous decision
over *Marcus Neal* (2-2, 2 KOs).

Wichita light heavyweight *Jeff Strum* pitched a shutout in his pro debut
against Topeka’s (KS) previously unbeaten *Chris Ortega* (3-1-1), winning
all four rounds in impressive fashion.