Junior middleweight Vladimir Hernandez has won many fights as the underdog, crediting his positive mindset for his ability to pull off upsets.
Hernandez is set for a 50-50 fight against Argentina’s Guido Emanuel Schramm tonight when he will headline “Wednesday Night Fights” on ProBox TV in Plant City, Florida, at the ProBox TV Events Center.
Hernandez (14-6, 6 KOs) has upset several notable fighters, including former unified junior middleweight titleholder Julian Williams, Alfredo Angulo and undefeated prospect Lorenzo Simpson. Despite being the underdog in each bout, the 35-year-old from Stockton, California, trained with his boxing coach Felipe Martinez and strength and conditioning coach Malcolm Lopez, maintaining a mindset that defied the odds. Hernandez attributes his success to the power of positive thinking and not seeing himself as an underdog or overmatched against an unbeatable opponent.
“I go into every fight thinking I’m going to be the A-side, thinking I’m the one that’s here to win,” Hernandez said via a translator. “It’s nothing but positive thoughts over here, and that’s how we maintain ourselves.”
“I want everybody to remember I was always a great fighter, and I was always ready to go whenever, with whoever. I operated under the mindset of ‘Hey, you’re an A-side fighter, but I’m the one that’s going to beat him – you’re an ex-world champion – I am going to beat him. You’re an upcoming prospect. I’m going to beat him.’”
Hernandez took the fight against Schramm (16-2-2, 9 KOs) on short notice, with essentially one week to prepare. He was initially preparing for a fight on May 31, but when that fight fell through, the opportunity against Schramm, 28, came about.
Schramm’s aggressive style is similar to that of Angulo, a previous opponent.
“That fight with Alfredo Angulo was the turning point of my career,” Hernandez said. “That was a fight we really wanted, and we took it on short notice, like most of my fights, and I came out on top. That opened up a lot of doors for me and my team.”
Hernandez hopes that facing Schramm can similarly boost his career. He enters the fight after a close unanimous decision loss in November to undefeated middleweight prospect Troy Isley. Before the loss, he had beaten undefeated prospect Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson in a major upset. Schramm is coming off a majority decision loss to Johan Gonzalez in the same month, which was broadcast on ProBox TV.
Although Hernandez admits to not knowing much about his opponent, he leaned into his mental fortitude as a key advantage that will make the difference in this bout.
“I know that Argentinian fighters are usually pretty aggressive, strong fighters,” Hernandez said. “So like I said, we get ready with a winning mindset, a positive mindset, and we’ll be ready to go.”
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