By Jake Donovan
photo (c) Tom Hogan/Golden Boy Promotions

When we last left off in the career of Carlos “El Famoso” Hernandez, he was standing center ring, reduced tears in trying to come to grips with a humiliating defeat against Kevin Kelley on a September ’06 Versus telecast.

It was the fourth loss in his last six fights, spanning just over two years, though this one was the bitterest pill to swallow. A strong case could be made for his deserving the nod in back-to-back controversial losses to Jesus Chavez and Bobby Pacquiao.

There was nothing controversial about his July ’04 loss to Erik Morales. But there didn’t need to be, nor was it anything for Famoso to hang his head over. After all, it was Erik Morales, at the time still one of the world’s best active fighters.

But losing to Kevin Kelley? The shot 39-year old version coming off of a knockout loss just three months prior?

THAT was a clear sign that the end wasn’t just near, it was slapping him in the face.

Hernandez didn’t even have the strength to finish his interview, nor did color commentator Wally Matthews have the heart to kick a man while he was down, simply wishing him well in what was perceived to be his final prizefight.

Fast-forward nearly two years later. The 37-year old Salvadoran-American family man has decided that the game is still in him, that he merely needed to rest and replenish.

We find out tonight how much he has – or doesn’t have – left, when Hernandez returns to the ring, as he faces Hector Alatorre in a ten-round junior welterweight main event, live from the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, IL (Friday, Telefutura 8PM ET/PT).

The sad stretch in which he left off blurred what Carlos Hernandez was always about as a fighter. He never claimed to be the best in the world. He didn’t avoid top challenges in pursuit of gazillion dollar paydays. Hell, he barely strayed far from home even when in full training mode, always of the belief that family was first and foremost.

All he ever wanted to be known as was a fighter who would take on all comers, no matter his limitations or how superior in skill level was his opposition. What Famoso lacked in skill, he always atoned for with heart and will.

He won some, he lost some. But he always fought.

So dedicated he was to his craft, that he celebrated his 21st birthday by making his pro debut. It wouldn’t end in victory – he was held to a four-round draw against fellow pro debuter Victor Trinidad -  but his next 21 fights would produce such an outcome.

The first true test for Hernandez came in 1997. Part of it had to do with facing the best opponent of his career to that point, former featherweight champion Goyo Vargas, back when it still meant something to beat him. But Hernandez’ chief source of adversity came outside the ropes, when his longtime trainer and manager Jack McCoy passed away earlier in the day after losing a long bout with cancer.

Famoso was given the opportunity to postpone the fight, in order to mourn the death of a man who was like family to him. He instead fought on, and scored what at the time would serve as the biggest win of his career.

The win was enough to convince his handlers that he was ready for his first world title shot. In he was thrown against another Hernandez – Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez, who at the time was the top ranked junior lightweight in the world.

Famoso fell short, in a bout that was accurately scored yet still seemed much closer than the lopsided cards in Chicanito’s favor. A round of the year candidate was produced when the two went to war in the ninth.

Eve in defeat, Carlos Hernandez was still treated like royalty, named by El Salvador as its top sportsman of the year. So overcome by the gesture was Hernandez that he decided to stage his next fight in the nation. The people responded, with 15,000 rabid fans turning out for what amounted to a tune-up win.

The fight served its purpose, igniting an eight-fight win streak that once again put Hernandez in title contention, once again against the division’s absolute best in Floyd Mayweather Jr. Their May 2001 bout wasn’t all that competitive, although so few have been when up against the artist formerly known as Pretty Boy.

But it made Hernandez the answer to a trivia question, as he is the only fighter to claim an official knockdown against him. The feat comes with an asterisk, as the knockdown came from a punch landed by Mayweather, who landed a shot on Famoso’s rock-hard noggin, injuring his hand to where he was forced to take a knee and an ensuing eight count in an otherwise dominant, if not particularly crowd-pleasing performance.

The loss was Hernandez’ fourth, though another wouldn’t come until he ran into his next future Hall-of-Famer in Morales some three years later. In between, he enjoyed the best stretch of his career, one that would make him relevant throughout the boxing world and not just known as a face-first eager-to-please brawler.

The signature moments of his career came in 2003, first winning his only major title with a win over David Santos to start the year. Eight months later, he confirmed his status as champion by outlasting the man who claimed to be the belt’s rightful owner in Stevie Forbes.

Hernandez and Santos competed for the same title that was vacated after then-champion Forbes failed to make weight in his prior fight. Against Hernandez, he made weight but failed to solve the swarming brawler in a bout stopped after ten rounds, when a cut Famoso suffered from an earlier headbutt was deemed too severe to allow him to continue.

It was his third win of 2003, a year that also saw a documentary on his life released as well as the birth of his and wife/manager Veronica’s first child in December ’03. Needless to say, it was a career year in and out of the ring.

Hernandez remarked at the time that becoming a father was the proudest moment of his life.  Not even a career year in the ring could compare.

“I don’t care what I will go on to achieve in the ring, in life, anywhere – there is no greater joy in my life than being a proud husband and father.”

It was a feat he would duplicate a few years later, when the couple gave birth to their daughter, now two years old. Only by then, there was far less cause for celebration in the ring.

The losses began piling up, and Hernandez’ heart – for years his greatest attribute – was no longer in the game.

A much-needed break followed the Kelley debacle, as Hernandez began enjoying the good life.

Like oh so many before him, the boxing itch came back the moment he once again stepped foot in the gym. The trip wasn’t meant to jumpstart a comeback, but to train mixed martial arts fighters. But no matter, Famoso soon realized you can take the man away out of the fights, but not the fight out of the man.

With a clear frame of mind and renewed focus, Hernandez returns. The comeback includes new scenery all around. He’s added a new advisor (Greg Leon) and also becomes the latest to ink with a promotional powerhouse, with tonight marking his first fighter under the Golden Boy Promotions banner. 

Should he emerge successful tonight against Hector Alatorre, the next step is to campaign at lightweight division, after having spent the lion’s share of his career five pounds south. It’s a fitting landing strip, as residing at the top of the division are fellow graybeards Joel Casamayor (just six months younger than Hernandez) and Nate Campbell (36).

But even if he doesn’t make it that far, what he ultimately seeks is a more befitting exit than the one provided 23 months ago.

“I'll keep coming, I'm relentless, I persevere. That's my motto - 'perseverance pays off’.”

That’s what Hernandez had to say while under the belief that he was calling it a career.

Tonight, we find out if boxing is the career in which he, at age 37 and never before in more need of a win, can still perservere.

Jake Donovan is a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com