“Chicanito” will be announcing from Mexico
Once a champ, always a champ.
For you fight aficionados tuning into tonight’s marquee matchup between Edwin Valero and Antonio DeMarco, during the evening’s broadcast you will see and hear a familiar face and voice to many.
Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez, a former two-time junior lightweight champion, told me that he was flying to Mexico for the big showdown. As you’ve read in my column, the brave warrior is currently battling cancer for a second time but he also took time to thank everyone for all their support.
I had contacted him a couple of days ago to relay messages of hope from various notables in the boxing community including HBO’s Harold Lederman, manager Jackie Kallen, Promoter Ken and wife Vera Thompson, the WBC’s Jill Diamond, WBC Legends of Boxing Angel Ochoa, emcee Jim FitzGerald and countless others. I wanted to make sure he got the word of everyone’s support during his fight to survive the deadly disease.
And I got a great reply from him that he is working in TONIGHT’S event from Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico (airing on Showtime at 9 PM/ ET/PT). As Valero and DeMarco go toe to toe for the WBC lightweight strap, “Chicanito” will be ringside.
“Good evening, Michele! I would like to take this opportunity to ‘Thank You’ and all those who have me and my family in their thoughts,” he said. “It’s been a hard week having chemo done every single morning and then taking two pills of chemo at night as well. I am feeling very tired due to the lack of sleep which happens to be from 9:30 p.m. to about 2 a.m most of the time.”
Genaro began his first round of chemo last Monday and he said that he’d like to thank Top Rank for their amazing support in flying him out to Mexico and giving him the opportunity to announce the highly-anticipated fight. Will the winner of this brawl go on to fight Manny Pacquiao? We’ll all have to wait and see. But what you can see here is Hernandez and the Filipino pound-for-pound cyclone as they met in Vegas.
And while it’s been rough going for the always-classy former fighter, Hernandez wants to express his appreciation and continued optimism, telling me, “I know that with the encouragement I receive from friends, family, and supporter like your readers, I will once again come out ahead.”
Bob Arum, Rick Sera, and Top Rank have once again stepped in to assist a champion in need–something that Genaro does not take for granted. “I’d like to Thank Top Rank for giving me a call to go out to Monterrey, Mexico to announce Saturday’s fight,” he continued. “I need the work, and they have always manage to give it to me when I most needed! God Bless Us All!”
You can see the champ from the front lines tonight.
We’re all still in your corner, Genaro!
Photos courtesy of Genaro Hernandez