By Jim Dower: The last time Steve Cunningham (24-3, 12 KO’s) and Yoan Pablo Hernandez (25-1, 13 KO’s) fought, Hernandez was fading at the time the fight was halted due to Hernandez suffering a cut from a headbutt in the 6th. The bout then went to the cards and Hernandez won by a technical decision.

However, he looked tired and scared from the 3rd round and it looked like Cunningham was wearing him down. There was still so much fight left that either of these guys could have taken it, but Hernandez didn’t look like the stronger guy.

Cunningham got off to a bad start in the fight after getting knocked down from a left hook in the 1st round. For all practical purposes, the fight should have ended right there because Cunningham appeared to be given a long count by the referee and also he got up and then fell back down. When that kind of thing happens in boxing, the referee usually always stops the fight, but this referee didn’t. It turned out to be positive for Cunningham because he took over the fight after 2nd when Hernandez started fighting cautiously and throwing few punches to speak of.

Hernandez, 27, is the younger and slightly taller guy at 6’4” compared to the 35-year-old 6’3” Cunningham. However, Hernandez can’t throw a lot of punches without fading and even when he is fighting at a slow pace, he still pretty much gasses out in the second half of his fights. When Hernandez is tired, he has a way of making even second tier fighters look great.

Hernandez was stopped in the 3rd round four years ago by former WBC cruiserweight champion Wayne Braithwaite. Since that defeat, Hernandez’s management has done a great job with him to turn him into a cocky puncher to more of a boxer/puncher to keep him from getting his weak chin dented again. At the same time, they’ve worked hard to keep him gassing out by having him fight at a slower pace in his fights. It’s helped because Hernandez has won his last 11 fights but he sure did look vulnerable against Cunningham last October.

Hernandez is going to have to show better conditioning in the rematch and will have to throw more punches if he wants to beat Cunningham. Throwing 15 punches per round won’t get the job done against Cunningham. What it’ll do is get Hernandez knocked out because Cunningham does well against fighters that throw few punches like Hernnadez.