Junior middleweight Vladimir Hernandez has won plenty of bouts despite being underdogs, and he attributes his positive mindset to his ability to pull off upsets.
Hernandez is scheduled to fight a 50-50 bout against Argentina’s Guido Emanuel Schramm in the main event of tonight’s Probox TV’s “Wednesday Night Fights” at the Probox TV Events Center in Plant City, Florida.
Hernandez (14-6, 6 KOs) has defeated many big-name fighters, including former unified junior middleweight champion Julian Williams, Alfredo Angulo and unbeaten prospect Lorenzo Simpson. The 35-year-old Stockton, California native was underdog in every fight, but training with boxing coach Felipe Martinez and strength coach Malcolm Lopez helped him to keep his mentality strong despite the odds. Hernandez attributes his success to the power of positive thinking, not thinking of himself as an underdog or that he would lose to an unbeatable opponent.
“I go into every fight thinking I'm going to be on the A side and I'm here to win,” Hernandez said through a translator. “We have nothing but positive thoughts here and that's how we stay.”
“I want everyone to remember that I've always been a great fighter and I was always ready to fight anyone. I went into the fight with the mindset of, 'Hey, you're the A-side fighter, but I'm the one who's going to beat him. You're a former world champion. I'm going to beat him. You're a hot prospect. I'm going to beat him.'”
Hernandez accepted the bout against Schramm (16-2-2, 9 KOs) on short notice, essentially one week to prepare. He was originally preparing for a May 31 bout, but when that fight was canceled, the opportunity to face the 28-year-old presented itself.
Schramm's aggressive style is similar to that of his previous opponent, Angulo.
“The fight against Alfredo Angulo was a turning point in my career,” Hernandez said. “It was a fight we really wanted and like most of my fights, I took it on short notice, but I won. That fight opened a lot of doors for me and my team.”
Hernandez is hoping the bout with Schramm will similarly boost his own career. He comes into the bout coming off a close decision loss to unbeaten middleweight prospect Troy Isley in November and a major upset win over unbeaten prospect Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson. Schramm was just coming off a majority decision loss to Johan Gonzalez on Probox TV that same month.
Hernandez admitted he didn't know much about his opponent, but he relied on his mental strength as the key advantage that would make the difference in this bout.
“I know that Argentine fighters are usually pretty aggressive and strong fighters,” Hernandez said, “so like I said, we're going to come in with a winning mindset and a positive mindset and be ready to go.”
