Marcos Hernandez chipped away until securing the upset win.
Jose Armando Resendiz saw his unbeaten record fall in dropping a ten-round, unanimous decision to the rugged Hernandez in their Fox-televised opener. Scores were 96-93. 96-93 and 97-92 in favor of Hernandez, who scored a second-round knockdown en route to preserving the well-earned victory Sunday evening at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Resendiz—a 22-year-old super middleweight from Nayarit, Mexico—carried the glossier record heading into the fight, though Hernandez the far more battle tested of the two and it showed throughout their Fox-televised opener. Two-way action was featured right from the opening bell and throughout their entertaining ten-round affair.
Fresno’s Hernandez gained a significant edge late in round two. Resendiz was having his moments prior to the two trading right hands, Hernandez—trained by the renowned Henry Ramirez—getting the better of the sequence as Resendiz staggered before stumbling into the ropes. Referee Mark Nelson ruled a knockdown, even as it was argued that the delayed reaction was aided by a slight push though to no avail.
Resendiz didn’t back down from the high-contact affair sought by Hernandez, with both boxers trading in every round. Hernandez was landing the most telling blows, even if by the slimmest of margins as Resendiz was often beaten to the punch.
Hernandez showed a world class chin in the fight when not taking the lead. Resendiz was able to connect with flush right hands and occasional left hooks, none so much as driving back Hernandez whose punches clearly carried the heavier impact. Hernandez cracked Resendiz with a left hook in round six and peppered the unbeaten Mexican with right hands in the second half.
Resendiz looked to turn things around down the stretch, landing with authority though unable to truly swing momentum in his favor. Hernandez continued to force the action when the two were at close quarters, waking through Resendiz’s stiff jab and right hand to respond with left hooks and uppercuts.
Hernandez improves to 15-4-1 (3KOs) with the win, his first since July 2019 and after having gone 0-2-1 in his last three starts. He got the job done as the more accurate puncher, landing 132-of-394 total punches (33.5%).
Resendiz—who landed 128-of-507 total punches (25%)—falls to 12-1 (8KOs) with the first defeat of his young career.
Headlining the show, Jesus Ramos (16-0, 14KOs) faces Brian Mendoza (19-1, 13KOs) in a scheduled ten-round junior middleweight contest.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox