Petra Kirsch – Gelsenkirchen
Yoan Pablo Hernandez retained possession of the IBF cruiserweight world title at the Fraport Arena in Frankfurt, Germany on Saturday, February 4 due to a unanimous decision over American veteran Steve Cunningham, who made his fourth world title challenge. Two knockdowns in the fourth round, where Hernandez showed his true power, swung the tie in the Cuban’s favour but, considering the gripping nature of the two fights, a trilogy has to be booked…
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Kirsch’s scorecard
| Round |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
Cunningham
|
10 |
9 |
9 |
7 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
10
|
10 |
9
|
Hernandez
|
9 |
10 |
10
|
10 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
10 |
Official verdict: Hernandez wins unanimous decision (116-110, 116-110, 115-111).
Hernandez’s power that has already felled Cunningham versus the superior boxing nous of the American against the inferior in-ring intellect of the Cuban… the rematch between two of the top cruiserweights in world boxing contained little global fanfare but deserved to be heralded amongst the most highly-anticipated match-ups of the calendar year thus far. As early as round one, Cunningham was far more controlled than he was in the opening tear-up as he fought from mid-to-long range and quadruple-jabbed… to the head then to the body twice over. Hernandez had control of the centre of the ring and bombarded the body, finishing the round well and inspired a great reaction from the Frankfurt crowd but the majority of blows were not clean.
Like the vast majority of Cuban fighters, Hernandez is a southpaw and, while the portside posturing was not problematic for Cunningham, he was struck with clean left hands. Athletic and extremely muscly, Cunningham displayed great footwork, used the ring well but the round went to Yoan Pablo for his ability to dictate the flow. In round three, Hernandez put his punches into bunches and landed extremely well to the body of the 35-year-old American. When Cunningham attempted to throw a power shot, he was countered with a short-range right hand launched from low.
When southpaws and orthodox fighters collide, there can often be foot-work issues as their lead feet tread on each other and, in this fight – the co-support to the main event of Enad Licina and Alexander Alekseev – it was no different, with Cunningham the main instigator.
In round four, Hernandez had Cunningham on the deck twice… the first knockdown was caused because of a full-blooded left cross. Cunningham attempted to make it to his feet immediately but collapsed awkwardly, however, he did – eventually – beat the count but walked into a shot straight away and was in a heap again. The second canvassing, though, was more of a flash knockdown as Cunningham was up swiftly. The Philadelphian prizefighter, a four-time world title challenger at 200lbs, could have been down a third time had it not been for excessive spoiling but in doing so, showed his experience despite his obviously dazed head, weakened legs and battered will.
In the fifth round, a slobberknocker threatened to break out. Cunningham attempted to break Hernandez with body shots before slamming a huge shot into the Cuban’s beak which wobbled the champion making the first defence of the IBF title. Cunningham’s eye and mouth were marked, perhaps because of the fourth round bombardment but could have been due to Hernandez’s head-hunting in the fifth. Yoan Pablo, 27, was more cautious since being so obviously tagged by the elder Cunningham, who showed great recovery and heart to win the fifth round after being dropped twice in the preceding stanza.
Cunningham, with new-found confidence, boxed in the sixth round… he goaded Hernandez on with a loose hand, shot to the body, caught Hernandez’s punches with his gloves, allowed the Cuban the centre of the ring whilst he moved gradually around the outside whilst throwing solitary blows. The best, most effective punch, being the straight right.
In the seventh round, Hernandez was the first to score with a meaningful move as he landed a three-punch body-bound combination. Cunningham, throughout the three minutes, returned to the midsection, like he had been in the previous rounds, in order to best deplete his opponent of his energy reserves. In the final 30 seconds of the round, Cunningham slammed a big overhand right onto Hernandez’s cheekbone which inspired a wild, staggered and badly-thought out attack on the part of the champion who was clearly rattled by the big punch.
Cunningham was caught in round eight by a short-range left uppercut. It was enough to make him take a step back, but not enough to make him return immediately to combat as he retaliated with a body punch. Midway through the round, Hernandez threw a left hand over the top which was partially blocked by a well-placed Cunningham glove. One potential difference-maker in the championship fight was athletic-shape… Cunningham boxed like he was comfortable with the tempo and the distance, whilst Hernandez was breathing heavily with his mouth wide open – something that could be dangerous as it’s where jaws are more prone to breakage.
Cunningham dictated the early tempo of round nine with his jab and, over a quietened crowd, his trainer Brother Nazim Richardson could be heard in his unmistakeable tone, shouting that Hernandez was done and that Cunningham was in the ascendancy. A renowned trainer due to his work in extending the career of Bernard Hopkins, Richardson’s cornerman advice is at the elite-level. Noticing his fighter was cut, he allowed the cutman to take centre stage between rounds in the first third of the fight whilst he stayed behind the ropes to give Cunningham instruction… this allowed the cutman to work more effectively, rather than partially between the ropes.
Before round ten, Richardson warned Cunningham that Hernandez would be throwing hail Mary punches. Indeed, his work-rate paled in comparison to Cunningham, who was patient in between throwing three-punch flurries. In a round high on quality, Cunningham edged Hernandez due to his ability to dictate the flow whilst putting his punches into bunches.
Cunningham, like he had done for the majority of the fight, out-boxed Hernandez, making his man miss whilst connecting with his three-punch moves.
The greater action was reserved for the final round as both fighters entered the 12th as if the contest and the IBF championship depended on it. Cunningham forced the pace, pushed Hernandez onto a tentative backfoot, but, with just over a minute remaining, Cunningham was rocked with a huge left hand. The punch rocked the American but did not take him off his feet. Hernandez fought like he was spent in the final minute as Cunningham came back with a vengeance.
The sound of the final bell was a most unwelcome one but both men shot their arms in the air as if they had taken the decision but only one man walked away with the belt; Hernandez. On The Beak had it closer than the three judges; a Mexican, an Italian and a Canadian, but considering the anti-climactic nature of the first contest, the enthralling distance fight tonight and the competitive stylistic match-up, a trilogy could be called for!
With victory, Hernandez is now 2-0-0, 0ko over Cunningham and 26-1-0, 13ko overall. Cunningham, in defeat, dropped to 24-4-0, 12ko.
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Tags: Boxing, Boxing News, Cruiserweight, Frankfurt, Fraport Arena, IBF, Nazim Richardson, Steve Cunningham, Yoan Pablo Hernandez
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