Mike Lee defeats Jose Hernandez by unanimous decision
Mike Lee returned to the ring after a nine-month layoff in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. He gave his fans a reason to be happy.
Mike Lee (21-0, 11KOs) fought for the first time in nine months. He met Jose Hernandez (19-4-1, 9 KOs) in his return bout. The Allstate Arena played host to Lee’s return and his fans showed up in force. Lee gave them something to cheer about.
In round one, Lee came out aggressively, but under control. He had Hernandez moving backward for most of the round and hurt him with an overhand right midway through. Hernandez tried to fight back, but Lee’s rights continued to find a home.
With only 30 seconds into the second round, Lee caught Hernandez with another thunderous right. To his credit, Hernandez took it well, but he was taking damage. Hernandez mounted an offensive halfway into the round and hit Lee with several shots to the body. Hernandez’s surge made it a hard round to score.
Lee came out firing in round three. He hit Hernandez with several combinations that sent him crashing into the ropes. Hernandez slowed Lee’s pace by holding him, but Lee closed the round with precision right hands to Hernandez’s face.
The pace slowed in the fourth. Both fighters looked a bit fatigued. Lee scored well early, but Hernandez did some work to the body that connected soundly. Hernandez had a decent round until the final minute when Lee landed another straight right to Hernandez’s head. That punch won Lee the round.
Lee came out headhunting in the fifth. He swung for the fences with wide hooks and landed many of them cleanly. His connection count continued to sore, but Hernandez stayed on his feet. Hernandez ate some devastating punches, proving he has a respectable chin. Regardless, it was a one-sided round for Lee.
Surprisingly, Hernandez came out with energy in round six. He was on his toes and pushed forward against Lee. Hernandez let his hands go and landed a nice right hook on Lee. It appeared like Lee took the round off. It was by far Hernandez’s best round of the fight.
Hernandez tried to advance his building momentum into the seventh, but Lee’s right hand landed early and stalled Hernandez’s attack. There were gaps of inactivity as both men tried to pace their energy. Lee landed the cleaner punches, but it was a close round.
Each man connected with headshots in round eight. Lee landed hooks early, but he left himself open while lunging with lefts. Hernandez hit him with his own straight right when Lee’s head was exposed. They fought in the clutch the rest of the way. Either man could have won the round, but Lee closed with a scoring combination.
In the ninth round, Lee came out punching, but Hernandez caught him with a right hook that stunned him against the ropes. Hernandez looked strong, but Lee’s right changed the tone of the round. In the last minute, Lee and Hernandez traded. It was a battle of wills. Lee threw more punches to edge out a hard-fought round.
Lee and Hernandez were exhausted in the 10th, but Lee came out looking for the knockout. He landed several of his shots but missed on the ones that could have put Hernandez to sleep. Hernandez fought back, but Lee was determined to constantly throw punches. Lee ended the fight in strong fashion.
When the scorecards were tallied all three judges scored the fight 97-93 in favor of Mike Lee who took home the WBO-NABO light heavyweight title.
Hernandez deserves a lot of credit. He made it a competitive contest against a fighter who appeared superior on paper. Lee showed a bit of rust defensively, but his punches were accurate and his energy was off the charts.
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Lee’s win brings him one step closer to his dream of contending for a major world title. He likely needs to win one or two more competitive bouts before he punches his ticket to a title shot, but his dream lives on.