Hernandez Shocks Litzau
"Jose Hernandez gave us the stuff movies are made of."
by Jason Collins

    In what was supposed to be Jason Litzau's coming out party, Jose Hernandez stole the spotlight by knocking out the previously undefeated rising star in the eighth round of Litzau's first major nationally televised showcase.
    Although "The American Boy" Litzau started out strong, winning the first two and a half minutes of an action-packed round one, Hernandez kept forging ahead with power shots, eventually flooring Litzau with one at the end of the opening round. Still dazed from the knockdown, Litzau went on to lose the second round to Hernandez.
    As Litzau cleared the cobwebs in round three, he began regaining control of the fight. Using his slick movement and superior athleticism, Litzau out connected Hernandez for the next four rounds. The American Boy looked dazzling as he landed an array of punches from several different angles. Still, Hernandez proved intrepid as he returned enough fire during rounds three through seven to remain a serious threat in the fight. Though being out landed in most of the exchanges during the middle rounds, Hernandez seemed to have a certain amount of success landing hard shots with his left hook and overhand right. Hernandez kept marching on despite the hailstorm of punishment he was absorbing from Litzau.
    Finally, in round eight, Hernandez' straightforward approach began to work on his opponent. Upon the advice of his corner, Hernandez began launching an onslaught of power punches onto Litzau. Perhaps exhausted from Hernandez' relentless pursuit, Litzau could no longer muster any defense against Jose's bombs. Early in round eight, Litzau found himself buttressed against the ropes by Hernandez. Unable to make a quick escape, Litzau absorbed a barrage of power punches that included several headshots. Not long after Litzau finally slipped away from ropes, Hernandez landed a crashing right to Litzau's jaw. The American Boy went limp and flopped to the canvas. Even if Litzau had beaten the count with his valiant attempt to get up, he would have been in no condition to continue.
    Chinks in Litzau's armor were first exposed by John Nolasco in the summer of 2005 when Nolasco pushed Litzau to a very close split decision and knocked Litzau down for the first time in Litzau's career. A collapsing defense in the late rounds almost cost Litzau the fight against Nolasco. This time, against Hernandez, the failing defense did cost Litzau the fight. Additionally, Litzau appeared unprepared to handle a rough-houser like Hernandez, who threw elbows, headbutted a bit and mauled Litzau on the inside.
    Entering the bout, there was a sense that this was a predictable chapter in a familiar script of a rising superstar. Litzau has the all-American nickname, the brilliant amateur career, the flashy style and even the good looks of a superstar. Hernandez came into Florida as an older fighter who would be otherwise completely unknown, had his name not been on the card. Yes, Jose once won a national Golden Gloves championship. But that was back in 1997. And it's rare for a 30-year-old fighter to suddenly capture the attention of sports writers and fans. But this also happens to be the week that "Rocky Balboa," Sylvester Stallone's sixth and final installment of the Rocky series debuts. And as a result, the sport of boxing gets a little extra attention. And so does the notion of the older underdog overcoming insurmountable odds. This week, not only do we have a boxing movie that critics are finding to be surprisingly good, we also got to see a non-fictional fighter that surprised everybody. Jose Hernandez gave us the stuff that movies are made of.