By Jeff Aronow: In a big upset, journeyman Vladimir Hernandez (12-4, 6 KOs) defeated #11 IBF, #12 WBA super middleweight contender Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo (26-8, 21 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision last Saturday night on Fox at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California.
Hernandez, 31, was brought in as sub to replace Caleb Truax, but he was surprised the boxing fans by outworking the 38-year-old Angulo to win a comprehensive 10 round decision by the scores 98-92, 98-92, and 98-92.
Boxing News 24 had Hernandez winning eight rounds to two. Angulo couldn’t match the high work rate from Hernandez, who came into the fight having lost two out of his last three contests.
Hernandez overwhelmed Angulo with punches
Angulo struggled early with the nonstop arm punches that Hernandez was throwing, but he came on in the middle rounds when Vladimir started fading. However, in the three rounds, Hernandez collected himself after a pause in rounds four and five and started pummeling Angulo again in the second half of the bout.
What ultimately hurt Angulo’s chances of winning the fight was the way that he stood with his back against the ropes, covering up while Hernandez unloaded on him with a storm of shots. The referee Jack Reiss gave Angulo a break by letting him cover up for prolonged periods while Hernandez unloaded on him.
He was throwing so many shots without Angulo firing back, that the referee could have stopped it, and few boxing fans would have complained. These were shots that weren’t being blocked by Angulo.
Vladimir’s nonstop shots were landing around Angulo’s guard to his head and making him look like a doll at times. The lack of power on Hernandez’s punches may be the reason why the referee Reiss let the fight continue, as he wasn’t losing up on his shots. Hernandez was throwing to connect and keep the heavy-handed Angulo from firing back.
Angulo vs. Hernandez breaks CompuBox record
Hernandez ended up throwing over 1000 punches, and the two broke CompuBox record for a super middleweight bout with 2,137 punches thrown.
The loss for Angulo snaps a two-fight winning streak, and it likely will result in him being moved out of the top 15 at super middleweight. Angulo was coming off of a big upset 10 round split decision victory over former middleweight world champion Peter ‘Kid Chocolate’ Quillin last September.
The victory had put Angulo in the top 15 and had him in position to earn a title shot against IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant. Angulo would have likely lost to his initially scheduled opponent Caleb Truax if he hadn’t pulled out of the contest. Truax is an excellent fighter, and Angulo would have struggled with his massive hands.
It’s a shock though for Angulo, 38, to have lost to the journeyman Vladimir Hernandez. That’s the kind of death that will be difficult for Angulo to handle because he’s supposed to be able to beat these type of guys.
What now for Alfredo?
Angulo is going to need to have a long talk with his team to decide where to go next. Losing to top fighters like Canelo Alvarez is one thing, but when you’re getting beaten by journeyman fighters like Hernandez, that’s a hard thing to deal with at this point in his career.
Hernandez was knocked out by Israel Madrimov in the 6th round in November 2018 in a one-sided fight. In his battle after that, Henandez lost to Souleymane Cissokho by an eight-round unanimous decision in June of 2019.
Hernandez is a good fighter, but he’s not someone that is expected to beat contenders. The fact that Angulo lost to this type of opponent puts him in a position where he needs to think hard about whether it’s worth it to continue.
There’s nothing wrong with Angulo’s punching power, as he still seems to be throwing with as much zip on his shots as he always has. The main issue is the lack of hand speed that he has, and he seems to be getting slower as he ages.
Hernandez and his team put together a great game plan in taking advantage of Angulo’s lack of speed by throwing nonstop punches. It worked well. If Angulo had more power, he could have made Hernandez pay for his tactic.