Nico Hernández
| Nico Hernández | |||||||||||||||||
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| Rated at | 108 lb (49 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) | ||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||
| Born |
January 4, 1996 Wichita, Kansas, U.S. |
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Nico Hernández (born January 4, 1996) is an American boxer, from Wichita, Kansas. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where won an Olympic Bronze Medal for the United States, in the Men's light flyweight division—the United States' first Olympic men's boxing medal since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Hernandez's career was chiefly built on the relationship with two colleagues: his father, and his best friend. Hernandez was first introduced to boxing at the age of 9, by his father, Lewis, a truck driver in Wichita, Kansas, who later became his coach. The boy took a liking to boxing with his first encounter—then became an energetic young fighter, winning his first 25 fights, aggressively reaching for tougher, even older and bigger, opponents. Along with best friend Tony Losey—a troubled teen also coached (and rehabilitated) by Lewis—the two boys developed into competitive boxers, with aspirations of winning 2016 Olympic gold medals together (Losey rising to USA Boxing’s 3rd-place ranking among welterweights, and younger Hernandez winning gold at the National Junior Olympics in 2011 and 2012.). They remained intensely involved with boxing, together—supporting each other's careers—until 2014, when Losey died in an industrial accident.
At Wichita North High School, Hernandez also excelled in wrestling, eagerly taking on better and bigger opponents with a ferocity and endurance that shocked them, and his coach.
Hernandez entered Boxing Qualification for the 2016 Summer Olympics. At the 2016 American Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he won the silver medal in the men's flyweight. He defeated Argentina’s Leandro Blanc in the semifinals to secure his place in the Olympic competition and advanced to the final to face Yuberjen Martinez of Colombia.
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