Photo credit: Media Focus / L.A. Boxing Gym
LOS ANGELES – Rudy Hernandez has quietly created a case for Trainer of the Year award consideration, and he’ll have the opportunity to further prove his point on Oct. 14 when his charges Junto Nakatani and Anthony Olascuaga defend their titles in Japan.
Before Hernandez and the three-division crownholder and current WBC 118-pound titlist Nakatani (28-0, 21 KOs) and recently minted 112-pound titlist Olascuaga (7-1, 5 KOs) headed to Tokyo, they held a media day at the newly erected L.A. Boxing Gym in the heart of downtown. The windows from South Los Angeles Street show illustrations of Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez, Rudy’s late younger brother and two-time super featherweight champion.
Gym owner Shigeki Matsuda, a former Japanese boxer, made the homage to Genaro. He and his younger brother Naoki Matsuda, also a boxer, have a long history with the Hernandez family. Alongside Knockouts Boxing in South Gate, the L.A. Boxing Gym is now a new home for Hernandez, who lives so close to the facility that he’s contemplating riding a bike moving forward just to beat L.A. traffic.
Outside of Los Angeles, the career-long coach and cutman “Chicano” Hernandez, a 62-year-old South Central L.A. native, has made a significant name in Japan for his Midas touch, skillfully guiding the likes of Masayuki Ito, Takanori Hatakeyama and Shinji Takehara throughout the years, and now, Nakatani and the Olascuaga ever since they were teenagers. The tag team tandem of Nakatani and the Olascuaga will be featured as part of a two-day Tokyo card featuring a combined seven title fights on ESPN+ culminating on Monday.
“Junto Nakatani is the greatest fighter I’ve ever trained,” Hernandez told BoxingScene. “Junto is very dedicated and he comes to work. He’s always on time and always in the gym before me. We have such a great connection. It’s easy to work with him because even when he came to me at age 15, his focus was only on boxing. It was to be a champion one day, and nothing interfered with that dream. Look at him now. He’s a three-time world champion.
“He can adjust to anything that is being brought to the table. He knows how to fight inside and outside. He doesn’t repeat the same rounds. He makes changes and does things differently. There are not a lot of fighters like him.”
If Nakatani gets past the heavy underdog Thai challenger Petch Sor Chitpattana, he’ll begin preparation for fights against brothers Naoya and Takuma Inoue next year.
“The first time I heard about Junto fighting Naoya Inoue, it made me nervous and gave me butterflies in my stomach,” said Hernandez. “It will be one of the biggest fights in Japanese history. It’s a must-watch. I hate it when people say, ‘Inoue needs to come to America’ For what? They don’t even support the ones that are here. Now you want to bring someone else? It makes no sense.
“I’m hoping Naoya blinks and we beat him. Look, I have a lot of respect for Inoue. I think he’s a great fighter. I’ve been a fan of his since I first saw him. He’s the top dog, and we’re coming up. When that day comes, we’ll be ready. Our goal is to go to 122 pounds next year. Naoya Inoue is the greatest fighter and No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He’s beaten the best. But I don’t care about anything before Oct. 14.”
Nakatani’s brother-in-arms at the gym, Olascuaga, has made a surprise run from being a cab driver to a world champion under Hernandez’s watch, and he’ll be facing rugged veteran and 108-pound champion Jonathan Gonzalez in his first defense of his 112-pound title.
“Anthony makes me nervous because he’s a really good fighter but sometimes the brain and the talent don’t click,” said Hernandez. “I always tell him, ‘You know what surprises me? You can cross the street and not get run over.’”
The jovial but straight-shooting Hernandez is not a sugar coater by any stretch.
“After my brother lost to Oscar De La Hoya by a sixth-round stoppage in 1995, I’ve never been in a fight thinking ‘We got this,’” said Hernandez. “I was lost in the corner because Oscar came out fighting a different way and I never expected it. I made sure after that to always be ready and that we’re never lost. We need to be ready as professionals no matter what they bring to the table.”
Hernandez brings plenty to the table as well by being a sought-after cutman. Last month in London, Hernandez was undefeated middleweight contender Hamzah Sheeraz’s cutman in what ended up being a quick and easy night at the office. When he’s not plying his craft as a boxing cutman, Hernandez can be seen in cage corners on the weekends tending to UFC fighters.
In addition to pulling off double duty for Nakatani and Olascuaga on Monday, Hernandez will be serving as a cutman for Tenshin Nasukawa.
“I’m training my guys to be 100 percent ready. If and when my guys lose, they lose because the opponent fought better than them, and not because they weren’t ready,” said Hernandez.
“We’re here to do a job, and we’re not done. When they retire we can talk about all of the great things. Right now, we have to work hard and sacrifice.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.