Junior lightweight Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez spent his training camp in Mexico following some confusion around obtaining a visa. The visa problem led to one of Hernandez’s best training camps since he was able to train in solitude in Centro Ceremonial Otomi, Mexico. 

Hernandez fights Friday against Rene Tellez Giron in a 12-round main event at Hilton Lac Leamy, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The bout will stream on DAZN.

Hernandez, 27, was first expected to have a fight in Mexico. That fight would be a clash against Giron, a fellow Mexican, involving two punchers. Instead, Hernandez of Mexico City, Mexico, will travel to the great white north to take part in a main event which his team hopes will elevate him to big things in the future. 

“At first we got really upset because the fight was supposed to be in Oaxaca. Then they changed it to Mexico City, where Rocky is from,” Hector Fernandez, Hernandez’s manager, told BoxingScene. “All his family, all his friends, everyone was going to be able to attend and then they sent us all the way to the middle of nowhere in Quebec. But it's the first time two Mexicans are main events in Canada. He is away from everything and anyone.”

Hernandez’s last outing saw him get a win over Thomas Mattice after a cut forced the bout to go to the judge’s scorecards. Hernandez, 36-2 (32 KOs), is currently riding a two-fight win streak since his loss to WBC junior lightweight titleholder O’Shaquie Foster in 2023. For this camp Hernandez trained at 3000 meters above sea level with his main sparring partner being Angel Fierro, who just had a classic fight with Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz earlier this month. 

The team knows about Giron, 20-4 (13 KOs). Giron, only 26, is from Queretaro, Mexico, and is best known for upsetting 2016 Olympian Karlos Balderas. Giron was on a three-fight win streak until being derailed by “Kid Austin” Floyd Schofield, but not without a scare as Giron dropped him in the eleventh round. 

“We've always respected and thought highly of him,” Fernandez said of Giron. “He's fought at 140lbs. He's fought at 135lbs. He's fought at 130lbs. He destroyed Karlos Balderas’ career. He almost did the same thing with [Floyd] Schofield.

“The last performance that he had in Las Vegas, where he won against George Acosta, taught us a lot about how to beat Rene. He's flat-footed. He likes to brawl. Rocky likes to brawl. But Rocky is going to have to show in this fight that he's more than just a Mexican brawler.”

The biggest thing about this camp, Fernandez reiterated, was the isolation. Hernandez couldn’t do anything else, but train. The team hopes that with a win Hernandez could pursue a rematch against WBC titleholder O’Shaquie Foster. 

“There's no network. There's no satellite. There's no cable television. There's nothing,” Fernandez said. “It's workout, sleep, eat, and then workout, sleep...”