One KO Wonders: Ivan Hernandez

[BoztheMadman]

Ivan “Choko” Hernandez appeared literally out of nowhere, at 21 years old, and produced an amazing upset by knocking out the great Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson in 2004. He only had 18 pro fights under his belt when he became the WBO super flyweight champion, but then lost the title to the fabulous Fernando Montiel in the first defense. After that, he lost all the rest of his important bouts as well, before eventually retiring in 2013-14. He was a hard hitting and offensive boxer, but he just couldn’t keep that momentum or handle the best at those weights back then. 
 

Ivan Hernandez Rangel was born 24 November 1982 in Ensenada, Mexico. As he was darkest-skinned in his family, he gained the nickname “Choco”, which he later started spelling as “Choko”, as in ko, knockout. He started boxing at 10, after his older brother brought him to a gym and let him try boxing. He then knocked out the other kid and thus-a future world champion was born. He boxed as amateur first and had 47 wins and 4 losses. He was selected to represent Mexico at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but chose instead to turn pro so he could support his family. He made his debut on 7 April 2000, winning by KO 2. He went 17-0-1, winning the WBC Youth flyweight title in his eleventh fight by KO 3 versus Christian Hernandez and the Mid-South flyweight title versus Ruben Poma, by KO 1. He scored 12 knockouts and then suddenly got to fight for the WBO super flyweight title against three-time, two-weight champion Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson of Washington DC. 
 

That fight took place on 25th September 2004 at FedEx Forum in Memphis. Johnson was making his second defense after winning the title in an impressive performance against former champion Fernando Montiel aka Cochulito. Choko had significant height advantage at 5’8 (5’9 according to one source) to Johnson’s 5’3 and was 11 years younger too, two months shy of his 22nd birthday. Hernandez was trained by Ronnie Shields, looking cheerful and confident in the ring during introductions. The fight was a true war and Choko was aggressive from the start, landing frequently with his big reach on the smaller champion, who counterpunched mostly. Late in round 7, Choko suddenly landed a long straight right hand to the head that sent Johnson down. In the next round, the two started trading furiously before Choko put Johnson down and out with several body shots. 
 

The underdog from Ensenada thus became the second man to knock out Too Sharp and was now a world champion at 21. He then expressed a desire to fight Montiel, partly because he was harboring a resentment towards him, after Montiel criticized Johnson for fighting “a nobody”, meaning himself. Montiel was eager to accept in order to get his title back and the fight commenced on 9 April 2005 at Don Haskins Center in El Paso. Montiel was also a lot shorter at 5’4 but still in his prime at 26. Choko again started aggressively, but Montiel kept his guard high up and defended effectively against his attacks. Montiel also moved and boxed clever, confusing Hernandez. Montiel also had far more experience from world title fights and it soon became apparent that Choko had taken a too big task for himself. In round 6, he was on the attack when he got hit and dropped by a counter right over the top. He got hit with some hard and clean shots after that and in round 7 he was again dropped by a left hook to the body. He got up at nine but seconds later was again caught with a big left to the body and dropped and the fight was over. 
 

After such a devastating ending to a young man’s championship reign, Choko would never recover. He first became a bantamweight and won the NABF title against Roberto Carlos Leyva by MD12, before he landed a WBC super bantamweight fight against the champion Israel Vazquez, a deadly puncher. That fight happened 10 June 2006 at Boardwalk Hall in AC and Choko had some success in the first two rounds but an accidental head clash in the second cut him over the eye and after four rounds of rather even slugfest, where Vazquez seemed to have a slight edge, the fight had to be stopped and Choko lost by a corner retirement, behind on all cards. He also surprisingly lost his next fight against unrated Jose Angel Berranza, 94-96 on all cards. After winning three easy fights, on 10 October 2009 he again landed a WBC title fight, against new champion Toshiaki Nishioka, in Tokyo. Again, Hernandez had to retire after 3 after getting cut on the forehead by a punch. His timing appeared off and it was clear his prime was now spent, not yet 27 years old. 
 

He still kept fighting and landed yet another world title fight in 2010, this time a WBO-one, against Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. It was on 16 October in Kissimmee, Florida, that Ivan Hernandez was in his last world title fight and got stopped by TKO early in round 11. His last fight happened in August 2013 and he lost by KO11 to Mario Enrique Tinoco in a Mexican featherweight title fight. He finally retired before his 31st birthday, having fought 13 years as a pro, with a record of 28(18)-8-1. His world title fight record is 1-4. Ivan Hernandez was a capable fighter in his own right and with his height and reach a challenge in the lower divisions, but his only success was knocking out Mark Johnson. One might say he caught Johnson on the beginning of his downslope, as he only had one more fight after that. Choko lacked the necessary boxing IQ to stay successful and also likely the experience factor was there. Whatever the truth, he will be remembered as a ONE KO WONDER!