Genaro Hernandez vs Jimmy Garcia

An injured right hand did not prevent Genaro Hernandez from completing a clear defence of his WBA world super featherweight championship against Jimmy Garcia. The unbeaten Californian won a unanimous decision over twelve rounds at the Monumental Plaza de Toros México in Mexico City on November 12, 1994. It was his eighth successful defence, extending a reign that had begun with his stoppage of Daniel Londas in France three years earlier. The contest formed part of Don King’s programme headed by the third meeting between Humberto Gonzalez and Michael Carbajal.

Hernandez entered with 30 wins, 0 losses, 1 draw, 15 by knockout. His previous appearance had been an eighth-round stoppage of Jorge Ramirez at the Forum on January 31, after which surgery on his troublesome right hand was planned. Garcia, a Colombian from Barranquilla, brought a record of 35 wins, 3 losses, 0 draws and was making his first world championship challenge. He was 23, five years younger than the champion. Hernandez had already defended against Omar Catari, Masuaki Takeda, Yuji Watanabe, Raul Perez and Harold Warren, and possessed substantially greater experience at championship level.

Hernandez hurt his right hand early, but Garcia could not turn that limitation into an advantage. Contemporary accounts described the champion as controlling the contest despite relying chiefly on one hand. The principal incident came in the fifth round, when Hernandez knocked Garcia down for an eight count. The challenger recovered and continued through the remaining seven rounds, but he could not make the scoring competitive. The injury restricted Hernandez’s attack without costing him command of the bout, which went the full scheduled distance.

All three judges favoured Hernandez, with scores of 120-107, 119-109 and 117-109. The margins confirmed a decisive victory rather than a narrow escape by an injured champion. Hernandez improved to 31 wins, 0 losses, 1 draw, 15 by knockout, while Garcia’s record became 35 wins, 4 losses, 0 draws. The Colombian had completed twelve rounds in his first championship attempt, but Hernandez retained both his unbeaten record and the WBA title. This proved to be the final defence of that reign; he later relinquished the championship before moving up to challenge Oscar De La Hoya at lightweight.

I rate Hernandez’s win because he hurt his right hand early and still beat Garcia clearly. That’s a substantial difference in class. Having already beaten Raul Perez and Harold Warren, he knew his way through a championship fight. Garcia got up from a fifth-round knockdown and lasted the distance, but I wouldn’t confuse durability with competitiveness.  Hernandez had enough boxing ability to manage his limitations and retain the belt comfortably. For me, that deserves more credit than simply counting the rounds Garcia survived.