Cunningham: I don’t consider Hernandez a champion

By Jim Dower: Former IBF cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham (24-3, 12 KO’s) will be looking to recapture his International Boxing Federation title against champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez (25-1, 13 KO’s) on Saturday night at the Fraport Arena, in Frankfurt, Germany.

Cunningham, 35, lost his title to 27-year-old Cuban Hernandez last October in a 6th round technical decision victory. The ending was kind of controversial, as Hernandez suffered a cut between the eyes from a head clash but the ringside doctor pulled the plug on the fight in a real hurry rather than letting it continue to see if Hernandez’s trainer could stop the bleeding.

It really didn’t look like a serious cut and moments after the fight was halted, the cut had stopped bleeding completely on its own without pressure on it. The final judges’ scores for the fight were 58-55, 59-54 and 58-57. Only the last score seemed to be realistic, as Cunningham had roared back into the fight after suffering a 1st round knockdown. From the third round on, Cunningham dominated the action and looked to be on his way to a victory when Hernandez was cut in the 6th.

Cunningham had this to say about Hernandez on Tuesday in Frankfurt, Germany: “He [Hernandez] is good but I don’t consider him a champion.”
Hernandez looked scared after the 2nd round and/or tired, as he rarely threw any punches and mostly was limited to one punch at a time. He seemed to be afraid to get hit by Cunningham and spent a good portion of the time just moving around and shifting his arms constantly but letting his punches go. He’ll have to fight harder this time unless the fight gets stopped earlier again due to another cut. Hernandez fights out of Germany, so it’s going to be tough for Cunningham to get a decision in this fight.

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