Hernandez wins regional boxing title, set for Jr. Olympics
GILROY – It has been a long time coming for amateur boxer Jacob Hernandez, but the 14-year-old garlic pugilist will finally get his shot at national prominence.
After winning three straight Junior Olympic NorCal titles but too young to compete at the Nationals, Hernandez claimed his fourth regional crown and is now old enough to move on to the next level of competition.
“Ever since I fought JOs, I thought I could go to nationals, but they kept saying, ‘You’re too young. You’re too young,'” said Hernandez, who will turn 15 on June 9, making him eligible for the 15-16 age division. “I’ve been waiting for this and now I made it.”
The 119-pound fighter, a member of the Bad Intentions Boxing Club that trains out of the Gilroy Community Youth Center on Sixth Street in Gilroy, won two straight Junior Olympic bouts to qualify for the Jr. Olympic Nationals in Brownsville, Texas.
“He looks really sharp right now,” trainer Roy Ramon said. “He’s been fighting at 119. He’s been moving up in weight and he seems to have got a lot stronger. We’re not trying to keep him down (in weight) anymore. Whatever weight he’s at, that’s what he’s fighting at.”
In the Northern California title fight, Hernandez received a forfeit victory when his opponent opted not want to step in the ring with him up in Sacramento.
“He didn’t want to fight Jacob,” said Ramon, who then prepared his talented boxer to take on Central Coast Champion Scott Martin, out of Modesto PAL.
“Jacob was kind of nervous because the guy had a lot of tattoos and looked a lot older,” Ramon added. “I just told him, ‘You’re not fighting the tattoos. You’re fighting the person.’ He didn’t let that bother him and just went in for the kill.”
Martin, 16, tried to punish the younger Hernandez in the opening round, throwing mostly power punches. But Hernandez stood his ground and countered Martin’s hay-makers with combinations.
“The kid was trying to throw a lot of bombs, trying to knock Jacob down. The kid was muscular and used a lot of power punches,” said Ramon, who was in the corner. “Jacob was using a lot of defense and countering off his punches.”
Hernandez then connected with a powerful left uppercut and followed with a stiff right hook. The first blow broke Martin’s nose and blood began to pour out. The ring doctor stepped in to check out Martin, but let the fight continue on.
“I was kind of moving around his punches and I just caught him open,” Hernandez said. “He rushed me, but I just waited, sat down on my punches, and let the upper cut go and followed with a right. I saw blood squirting out of his nose so I just kept going to the nose.”
Martin lasted the first round, but Hernandez continued to punish him and the ring doctor finally stepped in to stop the bout in the second round. It was the first time Hernandez had stopped an opponent.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, Nationals. Texas here I come,” said Hernandez, who is now the Region 11 representative for the Junior Olympic Nationals.
Hernandez is one step closer to becoming the first Gilroy boxer to win the national championship since Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero did it before beginning his undefeated professional career. Guerrero was in the gym on Saturday and worked with Hernandez prior to his last bout.
“I went in on Saturday and he was there. He was kind of helping me out, showing me how to sit down on punches and hooks,” Hernandez said. “That’s actually what I caught the kid with, one of those hooks.”
Along with his Bad Intentions trainers – Ramon, Rich Santiago and Rene Garcia – Hernandez also got some corner help from the Silver & Black coaching staff from Gault, Calif.
Hernandez is now preparing for the Junior Olympic Nationals in June. His workouts are being upped to three-and-a-half hour sessions, and he will be running five mile per day to get in tip-top shape.
“I’m really looking forward to getting in some good conditioning for Texas. The climate is different over there. It’s really, really hot so I want to get a lot running in,” said Hernandez, who lived in Texas before coming to Gilroy. “I’m going to try really hard and see what it takes to get with the big dogs.”
The Jr. Olympic Nationals begin with four days of fighting kids against champions from other states. If Hernandez wins out, he will stay another week and fight against the Mexican National Team. If he wins that, Hernandez then will take on the Canadian National Team with the winner in each weight class recognized as the Jr. Olympic Champion.
“We don’t want him to come home on the first day,” said Ramon, who is lining up some heavier, out-of-town fighters for Hernandez to spar with to get ready for a national title run.
