Interview

October 23, 2003
Chicago's "Macho" Man: Miguel Hernandez

"I have a lot of heart and I always give my best"

by Julius Stecker
    Certain athletes have the ability to capture the attention of others, whether it be a running back making a breathing taking run, a small forward doing an amazing slam dunk, or a fighter knocking a guy out with one swift single blow. As the saying goes some guys have it and some guys don't. Chicago's Miguel "Macho" Hernandez (4-0, 3KOS) is one those guys whose got it. While he is a relative unknown outside of Chicago and he just turned pro this year, every single performance he put on this year was dynamic and explosive. For example, his last outing was just another display of Hernandez stealing the show. In that particular fight Hernandez exploded on his over-matched opponent and destroyed him in one round, garnering the praise of many of us at ringside. Even though his opponent was not of high quality you could not but help to look at Miguel and say to yourself, that guy has got some talent.

    TalkingBoxing got a chance to speak to the up and coming fighter before his fight this Friday, October 24th at the All State Arena in Chicago. Miguel stated he is "real comfortable at middleweight...I feel strong." When I asked if he goes in there looking to make quick work of his opponents Hernandez said, "I never plan on getting a knockout, I take every fight as a tough fight." When asking Hernandez all these questions I could not help but admire his command of himself and his life, two very important aspects to being a good professional.

    When I talked to him on who his heroes were he said, "I look up to Julio Cesar Chavez, and Felix Trinidad, but honestly the person I look up most is my son Joshua, he is my true hero." An admirable answer from a very grounded person. Hernandez moved on to describe his fighting attributes by saying, "I have power in both hands, I have a lot of heart and I always give my best." And what more can you ask from a fighter then what Hernandez seems to give.

    In the future each and every fight will get tougher for Miguel, but it looks like he may have what it takes to push his game to another level. Time will tell if he has the goods to be a contender or maybe even a champion, but right now, you can't help but to buy into the "Macho" hype because simply, this guy is exciting. Hernandez closed out my interview with him by stating, "I don't quit, I get along with everybody and I want to help everyone, I believe in hard work and I will always give my best." With words and beliefs like that the boxing world can't help but believe that this "Macho" could be the real deal.

TalkingBoxing would like to thank Miguel for taking time to talk with us. We wish him the best of luck against Oriol Martinez on Oct. 24th.