Payasito Hernandez: record, next fight and profile →
It wasn't the dominant performance he vowed - despite what the final scores suggested - but Alejandro 'Payasito' Hernandez remains in contention for a bantamweight title after outpointing Martin Casillas over 10 rounds Friday evening in Mexico City, Mexico. Scores were 97-93 (twice) and 98-93, all of which seemed a bit too wide but landing in favor of the right fighter.
While 2014 wasn’t kind to boxing fans in terms of marquee matchups being made, there were plenty of success stories to come of the year. One of the more pleasant surprises was the surge enjoyed by Alejandro ‘Payasito’ Hernandez, a battle-tested veteran from Mexico who parlayed a pair of big wins into a bantamweight title shot. Back-to-back victories over Marvin Mabait and Daniel Rosas led to a showdown with unbeaten Tomoki Kameda last November in Chicago, Illinois. The Showtime-televised bout ended in disappointment for Hernandez, who dropped a split decision in a fight that most felt wasn’t as close as judges saw the action.
Alejandro ‘Payasito’ Hernandez hopes Friday’s fight setting produces similar results as was the case a year ago. The bantamweight contender returns to the ring this weekend in a 10-round showdown versus Martin Casillas, headlining on Telemundo live from Auditorio Blackberry in Mexico City (Friday, Telemundo/Claro Sports, 11:35 p.m. ET). Both fighters did their part to preserve the main event, each coming in right at the 118 lb. weight limit during Thursday’s weigh-in.
A similar setting roughly one year ago helped launch a title run for Alejandro “Payasito” Hernandez. The veteran trialhorse was always seen as a tough test but not as highly regarded when it came to consideration for title cotention. That all dramatically changed with an upset win over Marvin Mabait last March, scoring a 5th round knockout to ruin the Filipino's chances of a bantamweight title shot. The bout served as the headliner for the first show of the Telemundo 2014 spring season to air from Mexico, as will be the case this Friday. Heranndez heads home, where he faces countryman Martin “Pini” Casilla in a 10-round bantamweight clash at Auditorio Blackberry in Mexico City (Friday, Telemundo/Claro Sports, 11:35 p.m. ET).