ALL Venezuela’s knockout artist Rafael Hernandez knows about Guyana’s featherweight and lightweight title-holder and World Boxing Council/Caribbean Boxing Federation (WBC/CABOFE) super lightweight champion Clive ‘Wonder Kid’ Atwell, is that he’s a good fighter with 10 fights.

So how does a man who is scheduled to face an opponent with such a reputation prepare for a title fight? With intensity –  and certainly that is what the 29-year-old Hernandez whose record reads 15-3-2 has been doing for the past month or so.
He faces Atwell at the Princess Hotel on April 20 in a 12-round encounter for the WBC/CABOFE featherweight title and a place in the WBC Championship Cup, when the Guyana Boxing Board of Control, in collaboration with their budding list of sponsors, hosts a card dubbed ‘Firestorm’.
In an invited comment with Hernandez through his interpreter Ray O. Campbell Jr, the vice-president of operations with Havoc Boxing, Chronicle Sport learnt that the boxer’s approach to the fight is not a simple one, since he is not taking Atwell lightly.
“My approach is not simple; I am training extremely hard for every bout because he knows he isn’t in a position to take anyone lightly. He thinks everyone has the same “I’m going to do whatever it takes to win” mentality, so he is not leaving any stone unturned in his preparations.”
According to Hernandez, himself and his team have been preparing very hard, with his training going very well for the fight, putting in a lot of work, since his aim is to come out successful against a game Atwell.
“I realise that Atwell is a young and hungry lion who wishes to make his people proud and I would like to do the same thing too, so the training is very intense, just as for any other bout but more purposeful.
“I know Atwell is a good fighter, since his record shows that he put away his last five opponents easily. He is undefeated in 10 fights and that speaks volumes for a boxer with such a record and with that in mind, I have respect for him but will be working in the gym accordingly to hand him his first defeat,” said Hernandez.
He added, “Like any other fighter, I need to win and become the champion of the world and Atwell is another fighter in the way of me realising this dream of becoming a world champion and I will be doing what I did before, which is to move all stumbling blocks out of my way.
“I am working to be the best that I can be. God willing, I do get a knockout. I don’t underestimate any fighter. He probably has the same goals and aspirations that I do, so that’s why I’m preparing very hard to make sure I’m victorious.”
In closing, Hernandez took the time to thank Campbell Jr, his promoter Robert Diaz, as well as the GBBC and Dog Pound Promotions for making this fight possible.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to display my talents in front of the Guyanese people in their beautiful country. In closing I pray and ask that God protects both of us fighters and keeps us safe in the ring on April 20 and best of luck to Clive.”
Other fights on the card will see Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman take on Jamaica’s Salima Mullings for the WBC/CABOFE welterweight title, Elton ‘The Bully’ Dharry match gloves with Hewley Robertson for the national bantamweight crown and Mark Austin face Gladwin Dorway for the national junior middleweight title.
Mahmoud ‘The Extractor’ Loul will also be in action for his second professional bout as a boxer, when he faces Berbice’s Deryck Richmond in a four-round super middleweight contest, while there will be two amateur bouts involving two females and Nandkumar Singh, whose opponent is unknown.