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Genaro Hernandez defends his WBC Super Featherweight Title against Antatoly Alexandrov on HBO Boxing
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00:00:00In our 25th year, the following is a special presentation of HBO Sports.
00:00:30For the past five years, Oscar De La Hoya's career progression has mirrored the stock market.
00:00:43Up, up, up again.
00:00:46In 1992, De La Hoya won the only United States Olympic boxing gold medal.
00:00:51And on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was above 3,000 points and climbing.
00:01:00Over the next year and a half, the Dow Jones increased by 400 points.
00:01:04And De La Hoya's value within the boxing world duplicated this rise as he ran up a professional record of 12-0.
00:01:12And while the Golden Boys' ascent hit a small bump when Giorgio Campanella knocked him down in May of 1994,
00:01:17De La Hoya continued to win and to gather acclaim.
00:01:21The stock market pushed through the 4,000-point barrier in 1995.
00:01:28And De La Hoya scored impressive knockouts over tough fighters.
00:01:32Rafael Ruelas in May for a lightweight championship.
00:01:34Then Gennaro Hernandez in September.
00:01:36And with the Dow Jones Average shooting up to 5,700 points in June of 1996,
00:01:41De La Hoya's career also reached new heights as he bloodied the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez in a four-round TKO.
00:01:50But since then, the stock market and De La Hoya have diverged.
00:01:54While the Dow Jones has smashed through the 6 and then 7,000-point barriers,
00:01:59the Golden Boys' career seems to have plateaued.
00:02:01An inconclusive decision over Miguel Angel Gonzalez this past January,
00:02:05followed by a controversial win over Pernell Whitaker in April,
00:02:08have led many to wonder how good is De La Hoya at his new weight level of 147.
00:02:14The beginning with tonight's fight against David Kamau,
00:02:17market analysts will see if De La Hoya's career path regains its upward trajectory
00:02:22or whether more doldrums lie ahead.
00:02:38How go where did we get to Peers and Leifess?
00:02:41As you go to Peers and Leifess here?
00:02:44What are you and what are you and what ha у weeks of doing here?
00:02:45Have a few years what are you and what do you say?
00:02:46The odds are you to never forget.
00:02:47Go Go Go Go Go Its way.
00:02:49Go Go Go Go Go Go Go Go Go Go Go Go Go Theoreticalforce.
00:02:57San Antonio, Texas,
00:03:24where you can see one of America's most famous historical landmarks
00:03:28or wander along the city's romantic river walk.
00:03:31And tonight, from the Alamo Dome,
00:03:33HBO Sports presents a world championship boxing doubleheader.
00:03:38Beginning with Gennaro Hernandez defending his super featherweight crown
00:03:41against Anatoly Alexandrov,
00:03:43originally from Kazakhstan, now from Russia.
00:03:47Followed by Oscar de la Hoya,
00:03:49who will put his recently acquired world welterweight title on the line
00:03:52against Kenyan David Kamau.
00:03:57Difficult road games tonight for Kamau of Kenya
00:04:01and Alexandrov of Russia
00:04:03as they come into largely Mexican-American San Antonio
00:04:07with a largely Latino crowd on hand,
00:04:11ready to root for favorite sons Oscar de la Hoya
00:04:13and Gennaro Hernandez
00:04:15as they defend their world titles in this ring.
00:04:19We expect a raucous night.
00:04:21Hello again, everybody.
00:04:22I'm Jim Lafley.
00:04:23Welcome to this edition of HBO's World Championship Boxing,
00:04:25which finds Oscar de la Hoya back in the ring
00:04:28just two months and two days removed
00:04:30from his disputed unanimous decision
00:04:32over Purnell Whitaker for the welterweight championship
00:04:35back on April 12 in Las Vegas.
00:04:38And also, Gennaro Hernandez,
00:04:40earlier in his career a victim of de la Hoya at 135 pounds,
00:04:43now back in his original weight class of 130,
00:04:46where he scored a stirring victory over the great Azuma Nelson
00:04:49to win the world championship earlier this year.
00:04:52HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant has the night off tonight,
00:04:55so picking up the slack along with me,
00:04:57two-time world heavyweight champion George Foreman.
00:05:00And George, we get ready to watch de la Hoya
00:05:02under interesting circumstances.
00:05:03He's won the last two fights.
00:05:05That's right.
00:05:05But both by 12-round decisions
00:05:07and amid some public criticism,
00:05:10he and his camp followers making it clear
00:05:12that they're looking for a spectacular knockout tonight.
00:05:15Is that a dangerous mental approach?
00:05:17Yeah, the two worst things that can happen to a fighter
00:05:19to get knocked out in the first round, number one,
00:05:21and two, when the sports community start talking about
00:05:24how you looked rather than how did you win, lose, or draw,
00:05:28how you look, and he's in a bad position.
00:05:30He may have chosen the right or wrong opponent
00:05:31to come back to get a devastating knockout
00:05:33because of the reach advantage for the opposite opponent.
00:05:37But I think he can do well.
00:05:38But stop worrying about the critics
00:05:39and just get out there and do what he's been doing,
00:05:42winning boxing matches.
00:05:42It's going to be difficult for de la Hoya,
00:05:44whose star power image has been partially built
00:05:47on all those early sensational knockouts.
00:05:49And we'll talk more in detail a little bit later
00:05:51about why David Kamau could be such a tough opponent for him.
00:05:55But in the meantime, we get ready to watch Gennaro Hernandez
00:05:57going into the ring against Anatoly Alexandrov.
00:06:00And Gennaro's getting a lot of credit
00:06:02because in his last bout against Azuma Nelson,
00:06:05he was fouled at the end of the seventh round.
00:06:06He could have stayed down on the canvas
00:06:09and gotten the world championship
00:06:11and a victory by disqualification.
00:06:13But bravely, he elected to go on and fight anyway,
00:06:16risking everything.
00:06:17Does he deserve all the credit he's getting?
00:06:18Boy, you talk about marketing power.
00:06:20This guy's not only a good fighter, courageous,
00:06:23but he understood the state of boxing.
00:06:25There's been a couple of high-profile boxing matches
00:06:27that ended with a controversy,
00:06:29spiles and things of that nature.
00:06:30When you're concerned about things like that,
00:06:32you sacrifice yourself.
00:06:33You get up and fight anyway.
00:06:35That's why, and he is, by far, the top fighter around now.
00:06:38Well, it couldn't have come at a better time in his career
00:06:40for Gennaro Hernandez,
00:06:42who was still stinging from criticism
00:06:44as the result of how he had behaved
00:06:47at the end of his only loss
00:06:48against Oscar De La Hoya.
00:06:50Every so often in boxing,
00:06:58a man proves the inherent nobility of the sport,
00:07:01proves that he's a champion not just in his fists,
00:07:05but also in his heart,
00:07:06that beyond the title and beyond the glory,
00:07:09there is extraordinary humanity.
00:07:12On March 22, against Azuma Nelson,
00:07:15Gennaro Hernandez proved just that.
00:07:17At the end of the seventh round,
00:07:21Nelson pounded Hernandez after the bell.
00:07:24Had Gennaro decided to quit,
00:07:26he would have been awarded the fight
00:07:27and the title by disqualification.
00:07:30But if he continued,
00:07:31he could still have lost it all.
00:07:34In a dramatic display of courage,
00:07:37Hernandez went on.
00:07:39By rising, when others have stayed down,
00:07:41he lifted himself in the eyes of the cover.
00:07:43Well, this is unbelievable.
00:07:45Gennaro Hernandez, I think,
00:07:47is proving for everyone
00:07:48what kind of fighter he is here tonight.
00:07:51For me to lay flat back on my back, you know,
00:07:54and win the title and the disqualification,
00:07:56it's just not right.
00:07:57And I was going to go in there
00:07:59and beat a true champion
00:08:00the way a true champion should be beaten.
00:08:02Right away in the eighth round,
00:08:04I landed the first three, four punches on him
00:08:06to let him know that I'm not hurt, I'm back,
00:08:09and it's going to be a long night for him.
00:08:11In a rare boxing moment,
00:08:12Hernandez beat one of his era's best champions by decision
00:08:16and won the hearts of boxing fans.
00:08:18After the fight,
00:08:19the classy Gennaro Hernandez insisted
00:08:21that Nelson wear the title belt
00:08:23into the dressing room.
00:08:25To those who know him,
00:08:26these actions came as no surprise.
00:08:29This is the same man who paid his respects
00:08:32at Jimmy Garcia's wake in Las Vegas last year.
00:08:34The same man who employs all three brothers
00:08:38and his father in his training camp.
00:08:41The same man who commutes over two hours a day
00:08:43to South Central Los Angeles
00:08:45so his wife and daughter can have a better life.
00:08:48The same man who spends almost every waking minute
00:08:51with some member of his family.
00:08:53Ironically, he's the same man
00:08:57whose character was questioned
00:08:58for quitting in the biggest fight of his career.
00:09:00A fight against Oscar De La Hoya
00:09:02for the bragging rights to East Los Angeles.
00:09:05What happened?
00:09:06He's weak.
00:09:08I'm stunned.
00:09:09I mean, this is a fellow
00:09:10who's fought for X number of years
00:09:12and never lost a fight.
00:09:14I don't get it.
00:09:17Unknown to ringside observers,
00:09:19Hernandez had injured his nose prior to the fight,
00:09:21and during the bout,
00:09:23De La Hoya's power shots shattered it.
00:09:26What I did with Oscar
00:09:27might have been the bravest thing.
00:09:29I knew I didn't have much of a nose
00:09:31to last on what this is on,
00:09:32and with all the blood going through,
00:09:34the only way I was going to be able to breathe
00:09:35was through my mouth.
00:09:36A lot of people, they don't like my idea of stopping it,
00:09:39but, you know, I look after myself first
00:09:41and my family, you know.
00:09:43If something would have happened to me in the ring,
00:09:46who was going to support my wife or my kid?
00:09:48Nobody.
00:09:48Hernandez had his nose surgically reconstructed.
00:09:53It took over two months to heal,
00:09:55but the emotional scars
00:09:56from unforgiving hometown fans lasted longer.
00:10:00The troubles around here
00:10:01were that I was a sellout, a coward,
00:10:03you know, less of a man, you know, for what I did.
00:10:07Despite his troubles,
00:10:09Gennaro claims he never allowed his spirit to be broken
00:10:12and proved something to himself along the way.
00:10:14Good fighters are meant for one defeat,
00:10:18but are they going to be able to bounce back
00:10:20and become that person again?
00:10:22And I believe that I became that person again.
00:10:25Gennaro Hernandez's act of bravery
00:10:29against Azuma Nelson has reversed his image
00:10:31and turned him into a crowd favorite.
00:10:34For that, he's amazed.
00:10:36It never crossed my mind
00:10:37that it would change so many ways
00:10:39that people would think for what I did.
00:10:41Why they had to take, you know,
00:10:42blow like that after the bell
00:10:43to get all this recognition
00:10:45that, you know, people want to give me now.
00:10:48Gennaro Hernandez has proven
00:10:50that even amid the brutality of boxing,
00:10:53good guys can finish on top.
00:10:55He has erased a low moment in his career
00:10:58and captured newfound respect.
00:11:00The lights are finally shining
00:11:02on the very deserving Gennaro Hernandez.
00:11:07Go, go!
00:11:08Music, music, music, music.
00:11:09Interesting question raised by Hernandez.
00:11:11How did he show his bravery?
00:11:14By proceeding as a matter of honor
00:11:17against Azuma Nelson
00:11:18or by choosing discretion
00:11:19as the better part of valor against De La Hoya?
00:11:22Maybe the best answer is both.
00:11:29With his opponent already in the ring,
00:11:32Gennaro Hernandez of East Los Angeles
00:11:34and Mission Viejo, California,
00:11:36makes his way in
00:11:38before a wildly supportive Alamo Dome crowd.
00:11:42And you can see the smile
00:11:43they bring to Gennaro's face.
00:11:47His nickname, Chicanito,
00:11:50little Chicano,
00:11:52works just as well here
00:11:53as it does in East Los Angeles.
00:11:54And Gennaro Hernandez is trained
00:12:13by his brother Rudy
00:12:14and coincidentally you'll see Rudy
00:12:17in the ring for both fights tonight
00:12:18because he's also the trainer
00:12:20for Oscar De La Hoya's opponent,
00:12:22David Kamau,
00:12:22who, though he is from Kenya, lives and trains in L.A.
00:12:30And the record for Gennaro Hernandez.
00:12:33One technical draw.
00:12:35The loss to De La Hoya, 35 wins.
00:12:37He lost to De La Hoya at 135 pounds, moving up in weight,
00:12:41and has vowed never to leave 130 again.
00:12:44He's never lost a fight in this weight class.
00:12:4717 knockouts, as you saw.
00:12:49And the opponent tonight, Anatoly Alexandrov,
00:12:54son of a coal miner from Kazakhstan,
00:12:56now bills himself as being from Russia.
00:12:5930 wins, two losses, early in its career.
00:13:01Has not lost a fight in five years.
00:13:04Hasn't fought anybody that American fight fans would recognize.
00:13:09And as you saw, not a lot of punching power.
00:13:1212 knockouts among those 30 wins.
00:13:19Tail of the tape for Anatoly Alexandrov and Gennaro Hernandez.
00:13:24Both weighed in a quarter pound under the 130 pound weight limit.
00:13:27Hernandez is accustomed to having height advantages
00:13:30against all of his 130 pound opponents.
00:13:32And he's got a four and a half inch advantage against Alexandrov.
00:13:35Alexandrov with a 70 inch reach.
00:13:37Hernandez at 74.
00:13:38And tonight, as you can see,
00:13:40when they entered the dressing rooms,
00:13:42Gennaro Hernandez weighed 139,
00:13:44having put on nine and a quarter pounds since yesterday's weigh-in.
00:13:47Whereas Anatoly Alexandrov has put on three and a quarter pounds.
00:13:52Punched at numbers.
00:13:53And you'll see that they have offered similar numbers
00:13:56in each of their last two fights.
00:13:57The difference being that Hernandez's numbers of 18 for 58 average
00:14:02were against Julio Cesar, Chavez, and Oscar De La Hoya.
00:14:08Or check it, Azuma Nelson and Oscar De La Hoya.
00:14:11Both legends in the sport.
00:14:12And Alexandrov's numbers were against relative unknowns.
00:14:16Same thing for the jab numbers you're about to see coming,
00:14:19where once again, they're virtually identical.
00:14:21Nine of 32 average for Hernandez.
00:14:23Ten of 32 average for Alexandrov again.
00:14:25Hernandez doing that against De La Hoya and Nelson.
00:14:29And Alexandrov doing it against opponents
00:14:31whose name you wouldn't recognize.
00:14:33Rules of the bout with our ringside scorer, Harold Letterman.
00:14:36The Gennaro Hernandez-Anatoly Alexandrov fight
00:14:39is scheduled for 12 rounds.
00:14:40There is no standing eight count.
00:14:42No three knockdown rule.
00:14:43Only the referee can stop the fight.
00:14:45And he can be saved by the bell in the 12th and final round only.
00:14:49Jim.
00:14:51And now let's go up to ring announcer Michael Buffer
00:14:53for the pre-fight introductions.
00:14:56Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Alamo Dome
00:14:59of San Antonio, Texas.
00:15:02We're tonight, Top Rank Incorporated, along with your undisputed,
00:15:09undefeated king of beers, Budweiser present
00:15:12an evening of championship boxing for your entertainment.
00:15:16Sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation,
00:15:20Executive Director Tommy V. Smith,
00:15:22Boxing Coordinator Dickie Cole.
00:15:24Both bouts are sanctioned by the World Boxing Council,
00:15:27WBC President Jose Suleiman.
00:15:30Supervisor for the first bout is Bobby Lee.
00:15:33The three judges scoring this contest on a 10-point must system
00:15:37will be Jose Juan Guerra, Angel Guzman, and Walter Schaal.
00:15:43And when the bell rings, the man in charge of the action,
00:15:46your referee, Jerry McKenzie.
00:15:48And now, ladies and gentlemen, 12 rounds of boxing
00:15:52for the WBC Super Featherweight Championship of the World.
00:16:01Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner,
00:16:05wearing black trimmed with yellow and weighing 129.75 pounds.
00:16:10His professional record, 30 victories, 12 by knockout,
00:16:14with only two losses, by way of Moscow or Russia,
00:16:18here is the WBC number one ranked Super Featherweight Challenger in the world,
00:16:27Anatole Alessandro.
00:16:36And his opponent across the ring, fighting out of the red corner,
00:16:40wearing white, trimmed with red,
00:16:42and weighing 129 and three-quarter pounds also.
00:16:46His professional record, 35 victories,
00:16:5017 by knockout,
00:16:52with only one defeat and one draw,
00:16:54and two world titles.
00:16:57Ladies and gentlemen,
00:16:58from South Central Los Angeles, California,
00:17:01South Central Hills to be exact,
00:17:04presenting the WBC Super Featherweight Champion of the World,
00:17:09the World, Enaro Chicanico Hernández.
00:17:24All right, guys, we've already been through the instructions in the dressing room.
00:17:30Number one, protect yourself at all times.
00:17:33Touch them up and let's go to work.
00:17:41Referee is Jerry McKenzie from Mesquite, Texas.
00:17:46Alexandroff, described by his handlers as normally smiling and sly,
00:17:51has not cracked a smile since the end of the ring tonight.
00:17:55Hernandez kneels to pray in his corner before round one begins.
00:17:59There's a sophistication gap here,
00:18:02at least based on past experiences in the ring.
00:18:05Hernandez has been in with some of the best,
00:18:06both in the gym and in the ring for real.
00:18:09And Alexandroff, though he shows some promise,
00:18:12simply hasn't been at this level of opposition before.
00:18:15Yeah, Alexandroff, long way from home,
00:18:19and you can't fall behind on points
00:18:20trying to get closer to your opponents.
00:18:23You got to throw whether you are certain or uncertain
00:18:25that the punches are going to land
00:18:26to stay ahead on the judges' guard.
00:18:30Alexandroff, his handlers point out,
00:18:33not necessarily the classic stand-up European style
00:18:37you expect to see from an Eastern European fighter,
00:18:39because as a Cossack,
00:18:42his first exposure early in the sport
00:18:44was to Asian fighters,
00:18:46fighters from Korea and China and elsewhere.
00:18:49And consequently, he's said to have
00:18:51a little bit more aggressive style
00:18:52than most of these people you're being.
00:18:53I think so, no doubt about it.
00:18:55He stands up halfway up his body,
00:18:58but his knees are kind of bent, moving forward,
00:19:00so he has a little of both.
00:19:03Hard right hand by Gennaro Hernandez.
00:19:07And Hernandez, you can expect
00:19:09to use that height and reach advantage
00:19:11to stick his jab
00:19:12and try to keep Alexandroff out there
00:19:14at the end of his rope
00:19:15where he can do his best work.
00:19:17That's right.
00:19:17And you got to establish power up front, too,
00:19:19because if you don't,
00:19:20a fighter like Alexandroff,
00:19:22he doesn't know too much
00:19:23about your future exploit
00:19:24or your past exploits.
00:19:25You got to show him that you can punch.
00:19:28That's what Hernandez has to do early.
00:19:29He's got to show him that he can punch.
00:19:33It can be a long night of receiving
00:19:35if you don't.
00:19:39Already in round one,
00:19:48you can see that Alexandroff
00:19:51is laboring to try to get inside,
00:19:53find his way somewhere inside
00:19:55of Hernandez's reach
00:19:56and get a chance to work
00:19:57to Gennaro's body.
00:19:59Faints there and then comes back.
00:20:05Alexandroff forced to reach up
00:20:07with the jab.
00:20:09You know, he has a lot
00:20:10of awkward movement,
00:20:11as Alexandroff does.
00:20:13So it's kind of awkward to hit.
00:20:15And it takes a couple of rounds
00:20:16before you figure out
00:20:17how you better rearrange your jab
00:20:19to hit him.
00:20:20And that's what Hernandez
00:20:21is trying to do now.
00:20:22How do I reposition my jab
00:20:23for this?
00:20:24No, hold him.
00:20:24Hold him, hold him.
00:20:25Hold him down here.
00:20:30Hold him.
00:20:30Come on, let's go.
00:20:31Here's McKenzie warning
00:20:34for holding behind the head
00:20:35and hitting.
00:20:41Hernandez has been able
00:20:43to take advantage
00:20:44of some of Alexandroff's efforts
00:20:46to get inside,
00:20:47landing counter punches
00:20:48to give him the edge
00:20:51so it would appear
00:20:52so far in round one.
00:20:54Alexandroff,
00:20:54obviously not phased
00:20:56by the event.
00:20:58And as we go
00:20:59to the corners,
00:21:00our translator
00:21:00in Alexandroff's corner
00:21:01where they speak Russian
00:21:02is Paul Karmatz.
00:21:04When we get over
00:21:05to Hernandez's corner
00:21:06where the language
00:21:06is Spanish,
00:21:07Ray Torres will translate.
00:21:12Don't get over
00:21:13too confident.
00:21:13Just get out there.
00:21:15Use the jab.
00:21:15Move to the right.
00:21:17You hear that?
00:21:18Just be careful
00:21:19with his right hand.
00:21:21Move to the right.
00:21:26Don't be in a hurry.
00:21:30Look at him closely
00:21:32and proceed
00:21:32exactly the same way.
00:21:34Everything is okay.
00:21:35Proceed exactly the same way.
00:21:37Don't be in a hurry.
00:21:39Everything is okay.
00:21:42Push him a little bit
00:21:43and do it
00:21:46exactly the same way
00:21:47you did.
00:21:49Try to get
00:21:50a little bit closer
00:21:51to him.
00:21:56Good look at the crowd
00:21:59in the Alamo Dome
00:22:00as round two begins
00:22:01between Gennaro Hernandez
00:22:02and Anatole Alexandroff.
00:22:05By CompuVox numbers,
00:22:07Alexandroff able to land
00:22:08only eight punches
00:22:09in the first round,
00:22:10but he's the aggressor
00:22:10as round two begins
00:22:12and he's starting
00:22:13to sneak that right hand
00:22:14across the top
00:22:15every once in a while, George.
00:22:16You know something?
00:22:17For the first time
00:22:18I've heard a corner
00:22:18tell a fighter
00:22:19what he ought to be told.
00:22:20Continue doing
00:22:21what you're doing.
00:22:22Sometimes you think
00:22:23these guys think
00:22:23they're going to lose
00:22:24their job
00:22:24but always then do this.
00:22:25always something new.
00:22:27Leave it alone.
00:22:28If it ain't fixed,
00:22:29ain't broke,
00:22:30don't try to fix it.
00:22:37And he's doing
00:22:37the right thing,
00:22:38Alexandroff,
00:22:39about getting ahead
00:22:40and staying ahead
00:22:40on points
00:22:41and I do believe
00:22:41he's ahead.
00:22:42Help his head.
00:22:44Alexandroff handled
00:22:44by two Spanish brothers,
00:22:46Enrique Seria
00:22:47and Martin Seria.
00:22:48They are trying
00:22:49to break into
00:22:50what they see
00:22:50as the potentially
00:22:51big Russian
00:22:52boxing market.
00:22:54They've staged
00:22:55a couple of cards
00:22:55in St. Petersburg
00:22:56with Alexandroff
00:22:57as a headline.
00:23:04Good right hand
00:23:05by Alexandroff.
00:23:06He was able
00:23:07to fake.
00:23:08He's a less experienced
00:23:09and he's doing
00:23:10more fainting
00:23:10than Hernandez.
00:23:12Well,
00:23:12right now,
00:23:13I think by virtue
00:23:13of sheer aggression,
00:23:15he's got Hernandez
00:23:15back on his heels
00:23:16a little bit.
00:23:17And he's using
00:23:18that famous fain.
00:23:19You would think
00:23:19Hernandez would be
00:23:20doing that.
00:23:35Normally,
00:23:35when you see a fighter
00:23:37with a disadvantage,
00:23:38the last thing
00:23:39you see
00:23:39are him using fain.
00:23:41And that's what
00:23:42Alexandroff is doing.
00:23:43maybe he hasn't
00:23:47noticed
00:23:47that Hernandez
00:23:48is taller.
00:23:52Good overhand
00:23:53right again
00:23:54by Alexandroff.
00:23:56Alexandroff knows
00:23:56how to think
00:23:57positively.
00:23:58He told himself
00:23:59he wouldn't go
00:23:59into the coal mines
00:24:00the way his father
00:24:01and brothers had done.
00:24:03He avoided that
00:24:03through boxing.
00:24:04Now he's studying
00:24:05to be a lawyer.
00:24:06says in four more
00:24:07years in Moscow,
00:24:08he'll have mastered
00:24:09Russian law.
00:24:10And he says,
00:24:11I hope to win
00:24:11more battles in court
00:24:12than I do in the ring.
00:24:21Hernandez digging
00:24:22the left hand
00:24:22to the body.
00:24:24But Anatoly Alexandroff
00:24:25with faints,
00:24:26with full rushing
00:24:27aggression,
00:24:29and with sneaky
00:24:30right hands
00:24:30over the top,
00:24:31seems to have
00:24:32Hernandez a little
00:24:33bit tied in knots
00:24:34here in round two.
00:24:35Yeah, he's also,
00:24:35he's gotten really
00:24:36confused.
00:24:37For the first time
00:24:38this round,
00:24:39Hernandez is able
00:24:40to lower his left jab.
00:24:42It's been a little
00:24:42too high.
00:24:46Throw it a little lower.
00:24:59Hernandez not terribly
00:25:00happy with Alexandroff
00:25:02at the end
00:25:02of the second round.
00:25:03I think he believes
00:25:04the Russian
00:25:04is holding him
00:25:05and hitting.
00:25:06And there's a look
00:25:07at Oscar De La Hoya.
00:25:08He'll be along
00:25:09in the main event.
00:25:10Immediately following
00:25:11this one,
00:25:11taking on tough
00:25:12Kenyon David Kamau.
00:25:14Kamau's coming up
00:25:15from 140 pounds
00:25:16to fight De La Hoya
00:25:18at 147,
00:25:19but De La Hoya's
00:25:20new trainer,
00:25:21Emmanuel Stewart,
00:25:22says,
00:25:22don't let that fool you.
00:25:23The Kenyon is actually
00:25:24the bigger man.
00:25:25He's taller,
00:25:26he would walk around
00:25:27and a bigger weight
00:25:27than Oscar's.
00:25:35You gotta throw that jab
00:25:36and make sure
00:25:37that straight right hand
00:25:38comes in.
00:25:38You gotta throw that right hand.
00:25:43Don't forget
00:25:44the jab,
00:25:45the jab,
00:25:46and the right,
00:25:46cross him with that right.
00:25:47You gotta get him with that.
00:25:48In the second round,
00:26:09Alexandrov out,
00:26:11landing Hernandez
00:26:11by CompuBox figures.
00:26:14And now as the third round begins,
00:26:16Anatoly Alexandrov,
00:26:17an increasingly confident fighter.
00:26:19And now Hernandez
00:26:20trying to go back
00:26:21to sticking the jab
00:26:22as his brother Rudy
00:26:23asked him to do
00:26:24between rounds.
00:26:32Alexandrov coming
00:26:32right up the middle
00:26:33against Hernandez
00:26:34with that right hand
00:26:35and landing it.
00:26:37Because Hernandez
00:26:37is trying to wait
00:26:38to zero in
00:26:40on an accurate jab.
00:26:41You can't wait
00:26:42when you're fighting
00:26:42a fighter so awkward.
00:26:44You gotta throw the left jab
00:26:45and don't worry
00:26:46if you connect or not.
00:26:49Alexandrov isn't gonna
00:26:50wait for anything.
00:26:51No.
00:26:52He's fighting
00:26:53as though he's got a bus
00:26:54waiting on the curb outside.
00:26:58And when you're fighting
00:26:59this far away from home,
00:27:00you can't wait around.
00:27:01out of the way from home.
00:27:04And now Hernandez
00:27:10who fought back on March 22
00:27:12against Azuma Nelson.
00:27:14Won a world title.
00:27:17May play in over
00:27:17one of the biggest names
00:27:18in the sport.
00:27:19This would be an easy night
00:27:20for a come down
00:27:21or an emotional letdown
00:27:23for Hernandez.
00:27:23fighting against a guy
00:27:28he knows little
00:27:29of anything about.
00:27:32Good hard right hand.
00:27:37And Hernandez landing
00:27:38the left up and under
00:27:39as Anatoly Alexandrov
00:27:41came inside.
00:27:42I think Hernandez has figured out
00:27:50it's gonna be an awkward fight.
00:27:51He'd better go ahead
00:27:52and land Leather where he came.
00:27:53He should have shown this guy
00:27:54his power a lot earlier
00:27:55than he had.
00:27:57Now he's having to do it
00:27:58out of necessity
00:27:59more than out of a tactic.
00:28:01Alexandrov's mouth opening now
00:28:07as round three progresses.
00:28:09He trained in Spain.
00:28:11Came over here
00:28:11about eight days ago.
00:28:16And in Spain
00:28:17his sparring partners
00:28:18included two Spanish fighters
00:28:19and two Russians.
00:28:22Unlikely any of them
00:28:23had the moves
00:28:23and the ring sophistication
00:28:24of a Gennaro Hernandez
00:28:25but that hasn't phased
00:28:26Alexandrov much.
00:28:28Alexandrov's corner
00:28:29actually told him
00:28:30to do some pushing
00:28:31in Shevin so to speak.
00:28:33So he's really doing
00:28:34what he's told to do.
00:28:35They probably noticed
00:28:36that that kind of thing
00:28:36can ruffle Hernandez
00:28:37who would far prefer
00:28:40a technical boxing match.
00:28:45Hard left up and under
00:28:46by Hernandez
00:28:47and he chases Alexandrov
00:28:48into the corner.
00:28:49Both fighters throwing
00:28:50caution to the wind
00:28:51for the moment.
00:28:55Blood trickling
00:28:56from the left nostril now
00:28:58of Gennaro Hernandez
00:28:59and Hernandez wants
00:29:01the referee to know
00:29:02that came from a headbutt.
00:29:05That's what he thinks.
00:29:06of Gennaro Hernandez
00:29:07and keep your hands up.
00:29:08And keep your hands up.
00:29:09And keep your hands up.
00:29:13Use your left hand.
00:29:14Left hand.
00:29:15Everything is okay.
00:29:30Let's take a look at that.
00:29:38Terrific right cross
00:29:39by Gennaro Hernandez.
00:29:41Right on the button.
00:29:43Knocked Alexandrov back a step.
00:29:46Best punch of the fight
00:29:47so far for Gennaro.
00:29:48No doubt about it.
00:29:49Right up high.
00:29:50And that's odd.
00:29:51He didn't do it
00:29:52with an uppercut
00:29:52so that leaves him
00:29:53in excellent position.
00:30:01And Hernandez begins round four
00:30:03with a leaping right cross lead
00:30:06and clocks Alexandrov with it
00:30:08and then that insults injury.
00:30:10Referee Jerry McKenzie
00:30:11says to Anatoly,
00:30:12don't hold behind the head
00:30:13and hit.
00:30:14Anatoly says,
00:30:15hey, wait a minute.
00:30:15I'm not the one who was hitting.
00:30:16I was getting hit.
00:30:17No, hold him behind the head.
00:30:18Turn his side.
00:30:19There he is.
00:30:19He's holding behind the head
00:30:20and hitting again.
00:30:22Well, his left hand
00:30:23is being hailed by Hernandez.
00:30:25All right.
00:30:26Break it down in the box.
00:30:27Hernandez has some tricks
00:30:28up his sleeve.
00:30:31Good right hand in
00:30:32by Alexandrov.
00:30:36So you're saying
00:30:37that Hernandez
00:30:37is cupping his right hand
00:30:39around Alexandrov's left
00:30:40to make it look like
00:30:41Alexandrov's holding him
00:30:42behind the head.
00:30:43Those are some old
00:30:43veteran tricks.
00:30:44You do it?
00:30:47No, no, no.
00:30:48Of course not.
00:30:51Between rounds,
00:30:53Gennaro Hernandez's corner
00:30:54also asking him
00:30:55to go to the body more.
00:30:57Their argument that
00:30:58he's not being as efficient
00:31:00as he'd like to be up top.
00:31:01So you see him there
00:31:02targeting the body
00:31:03and rushing toward it.
00:31:06Well, Hernandez got to
00:31:07launch some kind of body attack
00:31:08if he wanted to be safe
00:31:09in the latter round,
00:31:10which he hasn't done so far.
00:31:14I think this rough
00:31:18and tough fight
00:31:19favors Alexandrov.
00:31:21I totally agree with you.
00:31:23Alexandrov looks
00:31:24far the more comfortable
00:31:26of the two
00:31:26when they're simply brawling.
00:31:28When he's fighting
00:31:28a world champion like that,
00:31:30why not get him
00:31:30swinging wild
00:31:32and hit buddy?
00:31:33Come on, step back.
00:31:35Leave things wide open
00:31:36for an accident.
00:31:38Turn loose of him.
00:31:39Turn it.
00:31:39Touch your way out.
00:31:40Touch your way out.
00:31:41Well, it's abundantly clear
00:31:47that Alexandrov
00:31:48didn't make the trip
00:31:49for the purpose
00:31:50of getting praised
00:31:51for his adherence
00:31:52to Marcus of Queensberry rules.
00:31:54He decided he'd rather
00:31:56come and try to win somehow.
00:31:57That's right.
00:31:59Not how what you do
00:32:00is win an attempt.
00:32:01How you play the game.
00:32:04Newspapers in Kazakhstan
00:32:05tomorrow will simply say
00:32:07he won.
00:32:08He's able to pull it off.
00:32:09Or Monday or whenever
00:32:11the newspapers come out
00:32:12in Kazakhstan.
00:32:18Menendez is going
00:32:19strictly for power punchy now.
00:32:21Watch your head.
00:32:22Find his head.
00:32:23Everything is about
00:32:24everything he's throwing
00:32:25now has power on it.
00:32:26Whenever Alexandrov catches him
00:32:39standing back waiting
00:32:40for power punch,
00:32:41he delivers three of his own.
00:32:45The even rounds have been good
00:32:47to Anatole Alexandrov.
00:32:50Genara Chicanita Hernandez
00:32:51has been a little bit better
00:32:52in the odd rounds,
00:32:53but both fighters have made
00:32:55some statements
00:32:56as round four comes to a close.
00:33:03Join us Monday, June 23
00:33:05for the most comprehensive coverage
00:33:07of the Premier Tournament
00:33:08in tennis,
00:33:09Wimbledon 97.
00:33:10HBO Sports kicks off
00:33:1259 hours of weekday coverage
00:33:14from the opening round
00:33:15through the semifinals.
00:33:16Live action each day
00:33:17from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern,
00:33:19followed by a nightly
00:33:20one-hour highlight program
00:33:22at 7 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.
00:33:25I've got to get you over
00:33:26to Wimbledon with me,
00:33:27Sambir, George.
00:33:28We do six-hour live telecasts
00:33:30with no commercials.
00:33:31I think you'd love it.
00:33:32Great.
00:33:35Complete your attack
00:33:36with the left hand.
00:33:37Use your left hand.
00:33:40Everything is okay.
00:33:43Everything is okay.
00:33:44Just use your left hand.
00:33:46Stop waiting so much.
00:33:51You're waiting too much.
00:33:52And you've got to use
00:33:53the uppercut.
00:33:57Well, here's how effective
00:33:59Anatoly Alexandrov has been
00:34:01in forcing Gennaro Hernandez
00:34:03to fight a fight
00:34:04that he might not like.
00:34:05Hernandez came in
00:34:06averaging 32 jabs per round
00:34:09in his last couple of fights.
00:34:10He only threw 13 jabs
00:34:12in the fourth round
00:34:12against Alexandrov.
00:34:13As more and more,
00:34:15Hernandez has been lulled
00:34:17away from a boxing match
00:34:19and toward a brawl
00:34:20by the Russian.
00:34:22Harold Letterman,
00:34:23how'd you say it through four?
00:34:24Jim, so far I got it all even.
00:34:2538, 38, two rounds apiece.
00:34:27The Russian did get in,
00:34:29do a lot of damage
00:34:29in rounds two and four.
00:34:30I thought he won those two rounds.
00:34:32I tell you,
00:34:32one thing though,
00:34:34every time the Russian
00:34:34comes inside,
00:34:35he virtually tries
00:34:37to headbutt Gennaro Hernandez.
00:34:39And Jerry McKenzie's seen it,
00:34:40and I'm telling you,
00:34:41we may see an accidental
00:34:42headbutt in this fight.
00:34:43And one more thing,
00:34:44take note of that mouthpiece
00:34:45that Gennaro Hernandez is wearing.
00:34:47It's a tricolor Mexican mouthpiece
00:34:49with the Mexican colors.
00:34:52Brilliantly done, Harold.
00:34:56You saw the outstanding
00:34:58punch-down numbers
00:34:59for Alexandrov in the fourth round.
00:35:0130 of 55.
00:35:02So he's warming to the task.
00:35:04What answers will
00:35:05Chicanito Hernandez
00:35:06be able to find?
00:35:07A lot of this possibility
00:35:11of a hitbutt
00:35:11is brought on by Hernandez
00:35:13not using his skills.
00:35:15He's standing back,
00:35:16waiting a lot,
00:35:17then he crawls
00:35:17and starts switching hits
00:35:18from side to side
00:35:19when he should be
00:35:20using the left jab
00:35:20and stepping and moving.
00:35:22Absolutely.
00:35:23It's inexplicable to me
00:35:24that Hernandez
00:35:25wouldn't simply try
00:35:26to dominate this fight
00:35:27with his jab.
00:35:28And this guy,
00:35:29he's got cuffed by surprise.
00:35:36Hernandez throwing
00:35:37a couple of jabs
00:35:38and managing to back
00:35:39Alexandrov into a corner.
00:35:42And then as they get inside,
00:35:43Alexandrov begins to land.
00:35:45Freak! Freak!
00:35:47Freak!
00:35:47Watch your head!
00:35:49Watch your head!
00:35:51Alexandrov gasping for breath
00:35:53pretty frequently, George.
00:35:54Well, he throws a lot of punches
00:35:55and punches
00:35:56and he also used a lot of grabbing,
00:35:57so that you use
00:35:59a lot of our energy.
00:36:02This is an energy fighter.
00:36:05Hunter, he's standing.
00:36:06Hey!
00:36:07Hey!
00:36:08You see, he's not waiting
00:36:10for that head contact.
00:36:11It's Hernandez
00:36:12that keeps his head
00:36:13a little close.
00:36:15Watch your way out.
00:36:17Watch your way out.
00:36:26Hunter, he's standing.
00:36:26I think Alexandrov has lost
00:36:30a bit of control now.
00:36:31A lot of his punches
00:36:32are just throwing
00:36:33rather than having any,
00:36:34anything as far as
00:36:36destination in mind.
00:36:37He's just throwing punches.
00:36:39And that's when you can get
00:36:40a knockout.
00:36:41Hernandez to concentrate now.
00:36:44Get that right,
00:36:45straight right hand in.
00:36:46Come on!
00:36:46Come on!
00:36:47Come on!
00:36:47Come on!
00:36:48Come on!
00:36:48Alexandrov stepping in,
00:36:50firing from in close
00:36:51as round five comes to a close.
00:36:53Get arm after you!
00:36:53Hernandez landed another one
00:36:54of those right crosses
00:36:55across the top
00:36:56about 30 seconds ago
00:36:57that appeared to be
00:36:58a heavy punch,
00:36:59but Anatoly Alexandrov
00:37:00is still coming right at him
00:37:02as the fifth ends.
00:37:03punches are too wide you need to come inside and throw that uppercut don't worry about
00:37:22it we're gonna get them we need to punch in the body you need to also give it yourself
00:37:30I recommend right uppercut disturb him all the time everything is going okay
00:37:47you are dominating the fight just complete every attack with your left hand
00:37:52you heard Anatoly Alexandrov's corner recommending that you throw the right uppercut and our Hernandez
00:38:04told us when we met with him yesterday that he believes Alexandrov exposes his chin when he
00:38:09throws that right uppercut so let's see if Hernandez can find the target if Alexandrov
00:38:15indeed launches the punch five round CompuBox numbers have Alexandrov landing more and throwing
00:38:26almost as many as Gennaro Hernandez and few would have predicted that
00:38:30keep that left hand moving all the time if he's not jabbing and he's circling it and it's really
00:38:38confusing your opponent you don't know whether to jab at all to be caught with an overhand right over
00:38:43your jab you don't know what to do in addition to Anatoly Alexandrov there's a cruiserweight unbeaten
00:38:53at this moment fighting in America from Kazakhstan whose name is Vasily Girov and there's a good right
00:38:58hand across the top by Hernandez promoter Bob Arum says that either of the two fighters could make a lot
00:39:06of money if he wins a world title because there's enough money in mineral rich Kazakhstan for them to
00:39:12stage fight cards Hernandez has landed a couple of good right hands that could have been potential
00:39:20knockout punches if he had come back with a left hook a combination behind it
00:39:24alexandrov keeps his right arm pretty close to the rib cage and tries to block that left hook to the body
00:39:36he's looking to the referee because he's they feel he's been hit below the belt
00:39:41two guys wrestling grabbing throwing each other around now Hernandez switches to a southpaw stance
00:39:48momentarily and comes back to the conventional stance as alexandrov simply drives him into the ropes with his
00:39:56shoulder and he was able to land a good straight right to the body of the Hernandez
00:40:05round six of a scheduled 12. Genaro Hernandez getting in the occasional hard shot but seemingly frustrated
00:40:13much of the time against anatoly alexandrov and alexandrov unloading everything but the kitchen sink in terms of
00:40:21possible ammunition against chicken ito that exam drop is having a problem trying to find some gas in this
00:40:29alexandrov
00:40:38alexandrov may tire but he doesn't cruise in there no he only knows one thing to do and that's to keep fighting
00:40:46straight right hand landed for alexandrov as he stepped inside and drove Genaro back against the ropes blood continuing to
00:40:53trickle from the left nostril of hernandez remember it was broken
00:41:0120 places was his nose against Oscar de la Hoya and to this day he trains in the gym with a special mask covering his nose
00:41:09still to come David Kamau of Kenya who earned a reputation with the only loss of his career going the distance 12 rounds against
00:41:17Julio Cesar Chavez and winning most of the rounds in the first half of the fight against Chavez
00:41:23first time in Oscar de la Hoya's career that he'll be fighting a fighter who is taller longer armed and might conceivably able to keep him away with the jazz
00:41:34you understand hit him with the knuckles don't despair if you're going to despair you lose you got to throw in the inside make your shots come in close
00:41:56now Gennaro Hernandez's brother Rudy is taping Gennaro's glove in the corner I'm not sure that Hernandez will make it out in time for the bell and he does
00:42:04another two more in another place just barely Fernandes throwing only eight jabs in the sixth round remember he was
00:42:11averaging 32 jabs per round coming in so he has dispensed with the fighting style that beat Azuma Nelson for him
00:42:23Fernandes has turned what should have been an easy as far as tactics are concerned an easier fight for him he's turning
00:42:29He's turning into a rough house, and he's getting the worst of it
00:42:31because he's touching and bumping heads because he's down low
00:42:35and where he need not be.
00:42:36And interpreter Ray Torres telling us that Hernandez's corner
00:42:40told him in Spanish between rounds that he's losing the fight.
00:42:43Remember, he's never lost a fight on the scorecards.
00:42:45The only loss was by technical knockout to De La Hoya.
00:42:49And they're saying that he has to pick himself up and fight better
00:42:52if he's going to have a chance to win this one.
00:42:56Hernandez scoring with a right-hand lead.
00:42:59In addition to all of his other qualities,
00:43:02Alexandrov obviously takes a punch pretty well.
00:43:05He does. He recoups.
00:43:07You hit him hard with a right hand that buckles his knees,
00:43:09and the next thing you know, he's in your face again.
00:43:16But the moment Hernandez is able to go one, two, three
00:43:19with any kind of punching combination,
00:43:22he's going to get himself a quick knockdown.
00:43:24He's got to forget throwing one at a time.
00:43:26Hands down.
00:43:26Now Alexandrov begins to paw in his left eye as blood trickles from a cut there.
00:43:35So you've got blood coming out of the left nostril of Hernandez,
00:43:38and now you've got blood over the left eye of Anatole Alexandrov.
00:43:41And there's a brand-new target for Gennaro Hernandez's right hand.
00:43:45But Hernandez has got to concentrate on combinations at this point.
00:43:49One punch is not going to do it.
00:43:52Whenever he's able to land one good shot,
00:43:54the other guy comes back with three good, three not-so-good ones on him.
00:43:58Hand down.
00:44:00Alexandrov is one of those fighters who doesn't care much
00:44:04whether his punches look pretty or elicit ooze and dyes from the crowd.
00:44:07But he's just trying to get a little leather on you anyway he can.
00:44:10He's got nothing to lose, only to gain here.
00:44:23In fighting again.
00:44:26Goes 12 rounds.
00:44:27These two guys are going to know each other pretty well.
00:44:29We'll get a closer look between rounds
00:44:37and try to examine exactly how long and how deep that cut is
00:44:41above Anatole Alexandrov's left eye.
00:44:55Two veteran fighters, Alexandrov is...
00:44:5930 years old, Gennaro's 31.
00:45:07Seven rounds in.
00:45:09Out of a scheduled 12.
00:45:21Malenco.
00:45:23Malenco.
00:45:23Malenco.
00:45:24Malenco.
00:45:24Well, there's the cut on Alexandrov's left eye and you can see that it is just under the brow
00:45:49and above the lid.
00:45:51Bad spot, George?
00:45:52Not at all.
00:45:53He's not able to.
00:45:54Seem to be in the way his brow is shaped.
00:45:57The blood kind of goes and flows away from the eyes anyway,
00:45:59so that's not going to bother him.
00:46:02Not a good place.
00:46:03Any cut.
00:46:04No cut is a good spot.
00:46:05But that one could have been worse, particularly if it were lowered down on the eyelid.
00:46:09The eighth round begins.
00:46:10Harold Letterman, how did you have it through seven?
00:46:11Jim, I've got to tell you something.
00:46:12The worst kind of fight to score is a fight where you've got two holders.
00:46:14I mean, it's absolutely awful when two guys are grabbing each other and then they pull out and one guy whacks the other guy and then they grab again.
00:46:17And that's what's happening here.
00:46:19It's a terrible fight to score.
00:46:20Just an ugly fight.
00:46:21But I'll tell you something.
00:46:22I think Gennaro Hernandez is winning slightly.
00:46:24I've got four rounds to three.
00:46:2567-66.
00:46:26Referee Jerry McKenzie did say that the cut was caused by a punch so that if the fight is stopped
00:46:29due to his first round, he got two holes in the middle.
00:46:31And now if he's got two holes in the middle, he got two holes in the middle.
00:46:32But I think that's what's happened here.
00:46:33The worst kind of fight to score is a fight where you've got two holes in the middle.
00:46:36I mean, it's absolutely awful when two guys are grabbing each other and then they pull out and one guy whacks the other guy and then they grab again.
00:46:3967 66 uh referee jerry mckenzie did say that the cut was caused by a by a punch so that if the
00:46:46fighters stop due to that cut jennaro jennings will win on a technical knockout but i tell you
00:46:51it's close it's ugly it's tough to score speaking of guys holding each other did you see hector
00:46:58camacho come over here and put a bear hug on our george foreman harold thought he's going to squeeze
00:47:03the life out of the man he's selling tickets already i've known that boy since he was a little
00:47:07kid he's a great guy loves to have fun he's never in a bad mood that's for sure camacho on the docket
00:47:16as the next possible opponent for oscar de la hoya if de la hoya can get past david come out tonight
00:47:21and once again de la hoya and the people around him have given a lot of incentive to the opponent by
00:47:26freely talking about the next bout before they fight this one as you can see you can't count about uh
00:47:33count your chickens before they hatch in this business well that's the lesson hernandez is
00:47:37facing at the moment as alexandrov lands the right uppercut in close and jennaro drives alexandrov
00:47:45against the ropes and then they mire themselves in a clinch again
00:47:51alexandrov determined to keep throwing punches
00:47:59there's been a couple of times alexandrov was hurt hernandez didn't take advantage of it so now he's
00:48:14thinking hey i'm just gonna keep fighting why should i protect myself he can't hurt me he fights when he
00:48:19wants and he rests when he wants
00:48:21faints circles left circles right very interesting he does have considerably more wrinkles than most
00:48:31eastern european fighters bring to the ring and tonight you see when he steps back for a rest
00:48:36hernandez does not challenge him let's allow them to rest when he attacks him hernandez just gets on
00:48:42a rope and takes the punches he's having a night of his life alexandrov should be happy with this fight i
00:48:49wonder i wonder if he would tell us nah it was just another fight it's it's the same as fighting vladimir
00:48:55mikailov in baku or vladimir alexandrov in kirov or november in the tishingula in moscow it's the same thing
00:49:02and as you watch genaro hernandez with the bewildered look on his face throughout this month be sure to
00:49:16catch long shots the life and times of the american basketball association rare footage as you saw there
00:49:22and revealing interviews create the backdrop for this colorful documentary about one of the most
00:49:27entertaining sports enterprises in recent american history there's dr j with that cosmic 60s haircut
00:49:36the 70s haircut there are the three next air dates for the life and times of the american basketball
00:49:43association punch punch punch use your right hand try your right hand now but punch punch all the time
00:49:53as much as you can
00:49:57you need to start throwing punches genaro especially the right hand to the body or the uppercut
00:50:09well we'll see which fighter is able to observe his corners requests for more punches right now
00:50:15both fighters get a momentary rest as rudy hernandez for the second time does a little extra wrapping on
00:50:21challenge an hour on their hand hernandez's glove anybody benefit from the extra 10 seconds of rest
00:50:26there jordan hernandez does let me tell you this fight is not going the way he wanted to go this
00:50:30guy's aggressive but not enough to get count a lot of counter punches are uh to be landed by hernandez
00:50:36he's aggressive enough but he stays out of the way yeah it's kind of a tough mix to go against yeah and
00:50:42hernandez says this stuff makes you tired
00:50:54alexandra corner told him to throw more punches
00:50:57he didn't say get him knock him out throw more punches best advice you can give a guy
00:51:02and he's trying to live up to their advice so for that matter as hernandez has a lot of punches
00:51:07to throw in the first 45 seconds of round number nine
00:51:11oh hold it
00:51:16genaro pivoting and coming around on the right hand but the target wasn't there by the time
00:51:20he launched the front
00:51:24alexandrov drives the left to the body neither man has done a lot of work to the rib cage
00:51:29alexandrov has had the best of it though he's gone down to the body a few times
00:51:33very important times because hernandez is looking for a knockout now you want to take his power away
00:51:45and there's hernandez with the left hand to the body and it sets the right hook a right cross up
00:51:50up top right but all as far as he's concerned is power punching and now he's had a few two to
00:51:56two minutes to the bodies to really be effective in the knockout
00:52:00and it's all power punching by genaro hernandez a guy who as we've mentioned a few times
00:52:06averaged 32 jabs per round in his last two fights box brilliantly in beating azuma nelson
00:52:11and has been lured into something more like a brawl here tonight and then jammed off this very
00:52:16successful slapper if you hit you three times three of those punches will be slapped
00:52:20and as far as i'm concerned if i'm a judge i'm going to look at this good quick little left hand
00:52:29inside by anatoly alexandrov now hernandez holds on to alexandrov's left arm and lands a right hand
00:52:36punch and they trade shots to the body as they meet in the middle of the ring again
00:52:42alexandrov will throw three shots and then wait a while and wait a while and throw three more hernandez
00:52:54never decide i'm going to throw hit you with three well there was that opportunity on the right uppercut
00:53:01as alexandrov threw the right uppercut had the left hand all the way down at his side but
00:53:06hernandez didn't take advantage right he's looking to land one big shot he's successful but
00:53:14a little scuffle after the bell and canara hernandez is at this point thoroughly perturbed
00:53:19and his opponent haven't totally alexandrov and that's great for alexandrov too
00:53:23stop the action so i can so i can hit you
00:53:30we got three rounds to go you got to throw the punches in the inside and make sure that uppercut
00:53:35comes in the uppercut in the inside it's it's what you have to do that's good but but but you have
00:53:42to keep throwing the inside punches that's the only way you're going to get them
00:53:52work and work repeat punches repeat punches all the time right hand left hand right hand and complete
00:54:00every attack with your left hand with your short left punch don't go back push real hard
00:54:14canara hernandez's corner telling him after nine that he's down by two rounds
00:54:34i guess that means five three one at any rate they're trying to get his attention and trying to get him to
00:54:39to do something different down the stretch,
00:54:41but they may be leading their fighter
00:54:43to believe that he has to go for a knockout,
00:54:45and that left hand could help.
00:54:47Straight right hand lands as well,
00:54:49and Anatoly Alexandrov in a little bit of trouble
00:54:52for the first time in the fight.
00:54:53Go, go, go, go, punch.
00:54:57Aim up, let him up.
00:54:59Break, break.
00:54:59Aim up, let him up.
00:55:00Danara Hernandez has never in his career
00:55:02knocked an opponent out after the ninth round.
00:55:05Blood streaming from above Alexandrov's left eye now,
00:55:12and suddenly Hernandez is able
00:55:14to find the target inside, George.
00:55:16Hernandez corner told him, you can get him.
00:55:19Alexandrov corner told him
00:55:20to throw more and more punches,
00:55:22but one guy's trying to get him,
00:55:24and the other guy is just simply trying to land punches.
00:55:26This will be ruled a slip, as you saw.
00:55:28Clearly, Alexandrov throwing Hernandez down
00:55:31with what amounted to a tackle.
00:55:33Hernandez shakes his head
00:55:34with a bemused expression on his face,
00:55:36and then goes back in
00:55:37with a right-hand lead against Alexandrov.
00:55:42Alexandrov landing the right-hand lead.
00:55:44Let me tell you,
00:55:44we see some weak knees on Hernandez these days.
00:55:47Hell-ho.
00:55:48Hey, hey!
00:55:49Come on, here we go.
00:55:54Right hand to the body by Anatoly Alexandrov.
00:55:57Having been hurt by punches earlier in the round,
00:56:00he tries to take away a little of Gennaro's power.
00:56:02Smart fighter, George.
00:56:03I think he should have gone in for the de-juicing him
00:56:08of his power a little earlier now.
00:56:10This guy's not going to be stopped by power.
00:56:13He's not even interested in a knockout.
00:56:16Alexandrov.
00:56:17Alexandrov.
00:56:17He's trying to throw a lot of up-top punches.
00:56:20So slowing him down now means knocking him out only.
00:56:23Come on, I tell him. Come on, I tell him.
00:56:25Well, he probably has a vague sense that he's landed more.
00:56:27That's what the CompuBox numbers say.
00:56:29Yeah, not only has he landed, he's out.
00:56:30As far as I'm concerned,
00:56:32he came a long way from home to take a fight
00:56:34unless he gets knocked out, which he can get.
00:56:39Well, as Harold Letterman told you,
00:56:42a difficult fight to score.
00:56:43Judges are from Texas, Italy, and Texas.
00:56:53Good overhand right by Alexandrov.
00:57:09He was caught afterwards, though.
00:57:11And Hernandez caught him in the counter right hand.
00:57:13Hernandez has backed Alexandrov up with punches
00:57:16several times in this round.
00:57:18But Alexandrov, obviously well-conditioned,
00:57:21has good powers of recovery,
00:57:22doesn't stay hurt for long.
00:57:24That's right, he recovered.
00:57:26Harry McKenzie with one more warning
00:57:28about holding behind the head.
00:57:30Tenth round comes to a close.
00:57:33Excellent, entertaining action in the first bout.
00:57:36And still to come, Oscar De La Hoya back in the ring
00:57:39just two months following his disputed decision
00:57:41against Fredell Whitaker.
00:57:42Looking for something spectacular tonight
00:57:45against long-armed Kenyan David Kamau.
00:57:48You may be amazed when you see the reach advantage
00:57:50that Kamau will bring into the ring
00:57:52against De La Hoya,
00:57:54particularly given the fact that Kamau,
00:57:56who's fought his whole career at 140 pounds,
00:57:58is coming up in weight tonight to fight Oscar.
00:58:00Keep your hands up!
00:58:15Round 11 of the Schedule 12, Genaro Hernandez getting all he might ask for from former
00:58:41Kassak now Russian Anatoly Alexandrov Harold Letterman how'd you have it through 10?
00:58:48Jim I get it 96 94 six rounds to four Genaro Hernandez Jim the thing that I don't like about
00:58:55Anatoly Alexandrov and I think George Stormy used the word is he slaps him he gets inside I admire
00:59:01his effect his aggressiveness but the truth of the matter is he's not a puncher and he's not doing a
00:59:05heck of a lot of damage with his shots when he does get inside timeout for the take by referee Jerry
00:59:10McKenzie that takes you coming up all the time because of the sweat this is the third time that
00:59:14they've had to momentarily delay the bout to tape Genaro Hernandez's glove and after three incidents
00:59:21like this the referee might take the liberty of saying something about it no no you really can't
00:59:25I mean when the guy sweats that tape comes loose Jim just a fact of life
00:59:30it's not a lot of power but a lot of punches
00:59:34so he's decided to just go out there and throw and keep throwing
00:59:40which is what Alexandrov has been doing all alone a lot of punches not a lot of power but a lot of
00:59:46punches that's your way out
01:00:01let's your way out
01:00:13break break break
01:00:15a lot of strange things, but this guy is a good fighter, and in my mind, he's winning
01:00:43his fight. He's the kind of a guy that a well-trained fighter hates to fight. That's right, because
01:00:49he's awkward, got a lot of energy, and he recovers quick from a hard shot. So we have the obligatory
01:00:59mild difference of opinion here at the HBO announce table, where Harold Letterman has
01:01:03Giannaro Hernandez with a small lead, and George Foreman quite obviously would have scored
01:01:07it the other way up to this point, probably thinking that Alexandrov has a small lead.
01:01:12Yeah, in my mind, he's leading me. He's carried this whole fight. Hernandez lands a good shot,
01:01:17the guy buckles, and that's all. He lays, gets back on the rope, and wait until he comes
01:01:21after him again.
01:01:22And as for the style of the fight, they've certainly fought the way Alexandrov wanted the fight, much
01:01:28more than they've fought the way Hernandez wanted the fight.
01:01:30Hernandez is clearly the bigger puncher. Why isn't he looking for a knockout? I don't know.
01:01:36Well, he's never had a knockout past the ninth round before.
01:01:38Get that arm down. A brief glance down at our table from Hernandez with a look that seems
01:01:47to say, boy, this is some kind of an effort.
01:01:50And our Hernandez working up something on the order of a real mean streak for Anatole Alexandrov,
01:02:05but it doesn't bother Anatole Alexandrov one bit.
01:02:08Okay, this is the last round coming up. You need to throw punches now. Don't forget to throw
01:02:14the uppercut inside and the left hook, and you'll get him with the combination.
01:02:18That's the last round. Come down real hard on him. Punch, punch, punch. Alternate. Alternate
01:02:32the punches.
01:02:33You understand? This fight is very close. We need for you to punch in the inside.
01:02:42Come on, Tolle.
01:02:49Come on, Tolle.
01:02:51Come on, Tolle.
01:02:53Come on, Tolle.
01:02:5431-year-old Gennaro Chicanito Hernandez of East Los Angeles, having won his second world
01:03:00title in March, when he beat the great Azuma Nelson for this 130-pound crown, decided to
01:03:05take on relatively little-known contender Anatole Alexandrov, and Alexandrov has given him quite
01:03:12a battle. They go into the 12th.
01:03:14Great, great, great.
01:03:17Hernandez is starting to fight the way he should have fought early on. Could have been an easier
01:03:21fight.
01:03:22In the last two rounds, Hernandez has made a big effort to up the punch-out foot. He's
01:03:28done it successfully, thrown more, landed more than Alexandrov in those six minutes.
01:03:33He hasn't been looking like an expert. He's looking like a fighter who's trying to win
01:03:36now. That's the way you beat these guys. Stop trying to be pretty and just do it.
01:03:44No question Hernandez has done a better job of that than the last couple of rounds.
01:03:47No doubt about it.
01:03:49Because he sure doesn't look pretty anymore.
01:03:55And the other guy's getting the best of you by being awkward. You keep the awkward and get
01:04:04the best of him.
01:04:05Good point. If you're not keeping the guy away from you with your jab, why bother?
01:04:10Go win the boxing match.
01:04:17Anatoly Alexandrov early in the fight effectively took away Genaro Hernandez's jab, his style,
01:04:23his boxing superiority. He lured Hernandez into a brawl and took Hernandez several rounds
01:04:29to warm to the task and get to the point where he's simply trying to outgrow and outland
01:04:35and outlandish only Alexandrov instead of reversing the style deficit in the fight.
01:04:40Lenander's power is surely getting the best of this fight in the last couple of rounds.
01:04:44Power now.
01:04:48Get off of him. Get off of him.
01:04:50Not a whole lot of blood over Alexandrov's eye in the last few rounds.
01:04:54But even when the blood flow is just a small trickle, George, do you think it affects scoring
01:04:58from time to time?
01:05:00I think so. The judges are watching boxing match the same as we are and we think, hey,
01:05:04he must be hurt. He's bleeding.
01:05:05That's right.
01:05:06They're looking for any reason to score a round for a fighter.
01:05:10And so many rounds are close.
01:05:12And I wouldn't want to be a judge of a fight of this major.
01:05:15That's right.
01:05:16Come on, here we go.
01:05:1730 seconds left before they go to the scorecards.
01:05:30Final defense for Gennaro Hernandez.
01:05:32Anatoly Alexandrov looking for a huge upset that would make him Russia and Kazakhstan's world champion.
01:05:40Already got some Russian world champions in the sport.
01:05:44Kostosu had one and lost it.
01:05:46Alexandrov has had everything tonight but power.
01:05:49Kosti Nassarov, Yuri Arbatikov, other Russian fighters who have one world champion.
01:05:54And the 12th round comes to a close as Hernandez offers some tribute to Alexandrov for the effort of the Russian football.
01:06:05In the 12th round, Gennaro Hernandez hoping to seal victory through 96 punches by CompuBox numbers.
01:06:30And Anatoly Alexandrov was only 10 for 58 in the round.
01:06:34So the final punch stat numbers are going to show some significant margins for Hernandez.
01:06:39But it took him a long time to gain a leg up on those margins.
01:06:42And right now let's see how Harold Lederman had the score through 12.
01:06:47Harold?
01:06:48I'll tell you, Jim, it really was an ugly fight.
01:06:49Shoulders, heads, I mean, grabbing, holding.
01:06:52I have at 115, 113, seven rounds to five, Gennaro Hernandez.
01:06:56I thought that 11th round, Anatoly Alexandrov actually worked him and won it.
01:07:01But certainly a big, big round in round 10 for Gennaro Hernandez.
01:07:04A big round in round 12 for Gennaro Hernandez.
01:07:07I thought he did enough going down the stretch.
01:07:09Landed enough power shots to win the fight.
01:07:12He certainly outpunched him.
01:07:13The kid was aggressive with the shoulders.
01:07:15But Hernandez slightly edges him.
01:07:17And understand that while we think Harold is absolutely the best scorer in the sport,
01:07:23sometimes the judges do go the other way.
01:07:26Last Saturday night, Harold scored David Tua,
01:07:30a narrow margin winner over Ike Ibeabuchi,
01:07:33and the three judges in Sacramento had a unanimous decision for Ibeabuchi.
01:07:38Cheerfully.
01:07:39It happens.
01:07:41No knock against Hugh Harold, just the facts of life in this sport.
01:07:45A few more subjective exercises in the world than trying to judge a boxing match
01:07:54and pick a winner particularly in a scratching and fighting brawl like this one.
01:07:58Now let's go to Michael Buffer to find out how the judges saw it.
01:08:01Ladies and gentlemen, we go to the score cards.
01:08:04Judge Jose Juan Guerra scores the bout.
01:08:09116-113.
01:08:11He has it for Hernandez.
01:08:16Judge Angel Guzman scores the bout.
01:08:18115-113.
01:08:21Scoring it for the challenger, Alessandro.
01:08:28Walter Shaw scores the bout.
01:08:29116-113 for the winner on split decision.
01:08:34And still WBC super featherweight champion of the world,
01:08:40Gennaro Chicanito Hernandez.
01:08:53Split decision victory for Gennaro Chicanito Hernandez.
01:08:57He retains his world 130-pound championship.
01:09:01No easy task.
01:09:03Final punch stat numbers.
01:09:04And as you can see, Hernandez wound up landing 43 more, throwing 143 more.
01:09:10Those differences almost entirely from the last couple of rounds
01:09:14when Gennaro put forth a big effort to salvage victory in the fight.
01:09:19And the final jab numbers, and you can see that Gennaro Hernandez wound up landing 54 and throwing 178.
01:09:30And Anatoly Alexandrov, who throws a jab just as one of his entire whirlwind package of awkward shots,
01:09:38landing 32 out of 109.
01:09:40And joining me now at ringside, the man who retained his championship in this very difficult fight, Gennaro Hernandez.
01:09:46And you couldn't have asked for a much tougher bout than that one, Gennaro.
01:09:50Well, first of all, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to come in here and perform on HBO.
01:09:54And thanks to you for giving me the chance to commentate right here with you.
01:09:58What happened was, you know, he's an awkward fighter.
01:10:00I thought I would be able to adjust to him, but he's a very awkward fighter.
01:10:03You know, he throws a pretty good jab, and he'll try to sneak in his right a lot.
01:10:07And he strikes me in with his head quite often, so, you know, we had a difficult time trying to adjust with him.
01:10:11Yeah, early in the fight, you seemed to dispense with the jab by the middle rounds.
01:10:15You were brawling with him and seeming to fight the kind of fight that he wanted to fight.
01:10:20Was it a difficult mental task to get yourself to go back to the basics in the past few rounds,
01:10:25up the punch out foot, and claim the fight?
01:10:27You know, it was difficult because, you know, it was my first out of defense.
01:10:30I wanted to approve the people that I am, a great champion.
01:10:33And unfortunately tonight, you know, I couldn't perform as well as I wanted to, not like the last fight.
01:10:38I avoided trying to throw a lot of jabs.
01:10:41The reason being, I guess it was a psychological thing where, you know, he didn't give me an opportunity because of this awkwardness that he has.
01:10:48I see that your nose is swelling pretty fast. Do you think it's broken again?
01:10:51Well, it is. Yeah, I can't put it in my mind that it is.
01:10:54But, you know, he did caught me with a lot of several shots.
01:10:57He managed to sting me a couple of times.
01:10:59But other than that, you know, I was able to withhold and withstand the punches that he threw at me.
01:11:03We just worry that this nose thing is going to haunt you for the rest of your career.
01:11:06What's next?
01:11:07Well, you know, right now I go fight by fight.
01:11:09Whatever Mr. Bob and Tom Frank want to do, you know, they're the promoters.
01:11:12And I just have to wait for their decision to see what happens next.
01:11:15Arturo Gatti, another 130-pound world champion with some star quality to make for a great opposition.
01:11:20I believe that that would be a better fight than what I did tonight.
01:11:23You know, knowing that it's going to be a unification between me and himself.
01:11:27First of all, I would like to say hi to everybody in South Central Hills and L.A.
01:11:32and everybody on 30th.
01:11:34All right, Gennaro.
01:11:35Congratulations to you and all your family members.
01:11:37And thanks for putting on a good show.
01:11:39Thank you very much.
01:11:40Gennaro Hernandez goes on with his world championship.
01:11:43He couldn't have asked for a much better show from young Anatoly Alexandrov,
01:11:46or I should say 30-year-old Anatoly Alexandrov.
01:11:49That's young in my book.
01:11:51It's young in my book, too.
01:11:52We'll see him again here in the USA.
01:11:53No doubt about it.
01:11:54And if that fight had taken place maybe in another country at another time,
01:11:57Alexandrov could have walked off with that decision in my book.
01:12:00Yeah, I think Gennaro's pretty happy they didn't fight in Kazakhstan.
01:12:02No doubt about it.
01:12:03Here's another fighter worrying too much about his performance.
01:12:06He won the boxing match, but he said he's disappointed in his performance.
01:12:09This need not happen in boxing.
01:12:11Let's get ready for the main event, George, because you're alluding to it right now,
01:12:14talking about a fighter who's worried more about the style and the nature of his performance
01:12:18than just whether he wins or loses.
01:12:20Oscar De La Hoya looking for a spectacular performance tonight,
01:12:23but he goes in against an opponent, David Kamau, who is taller than Oscar,
01:12:27and Oscar's not used to that, and has a much longer reach.
01:12:30Bad choice?
01:12:31Bad choice.
01:12:32It's like playing with crawfish or crayfish.
01:12:34You want to get them behind the head, but they may get you as you reach in.
01:12:38So he's fighting a taller opponent, hard to get a short punch in for a knockout.
01:12:42He's going to have a job on his hand if he want to knock out and look spectacular.
01:12:46And amid all this, taking on a pretty tough opponent with a difficult style for him just
01:12:51two months after the Whitaker fight, he has another new trainer.
01:12:54Now, this is the second time in his career that Oscar De La Hoya has changed trainers
01:12:59relatively early in his career for all those moves.
01:13:02What do you think?
01:13:03I think it's awful.
01:13:04Not so much that you're changing trainers, but he's subjective.
01:13:07Every time he changes trainers, he falls in love with these guys
01:13:10and says they're the best thing since the second coming, and it's not happening for him.
01:13:14He changes again.
01:13:15You've got to stick to what you're doing, learn as you go, and stop training training.
01:13:20Well, let's take a look at some statistical evidence of why Oscar De La Hoya
01:13:24wanted to hire Emanuel Stewart as a new trainer.
01:13:27He's been getting a lot more cautious, and in the last couple of fights,
01:13:31he's gotten hit more as a result.
01:13:33You can see that in the preceding five fights, when Oscar was punching with power
01:13:37and knocking people out, opponents like Ruelas Hernandez, Leja Tyson, and Chavez
01:13:42landed only 26% of their punches.
01:13:44That's Daryl Tyson, not Mike.
01:13:46But Miguel Angel Gonzalez and Pernell Whitaker landed a combined 36% of their punches
01:13:51against De La Hoya.
01:13:52And Oscar now believes that if he gets aggressive again, throws more punches,
01:13:57then he can slow down the number of punches coming in against him.
01:14:01What will Emanuel Stewart mean to Oscar De La Hoya?
01:14:05Let's find out.
01:14:07We'll see you next time, Canan.
01:14:12Thanks again.
01:14:13I'm down to the first
01:14:25I'm down to the third of my lone partner.
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