Former Canelo Sparring Partner Could Be Middleweight Division's Next Big Thing

Yoenli Hernandez lives up to his “El Diablo” nickname, even featuring devil tails on his red Nike boxing shoes. The devil is in the details, and Yoenli Hernandez (10-0, 9 KOs) left nothing to chance Saturday, marching through U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha for a fourth-round TKO.

"Out of his 94 punches landed, 74 of them were power shots, including over 20 power shots in both the second and third rounds," The Ring Magazine said in reporting the devastating accuracy that the Cuban boxer-puncher showed in dismantling Gausha.

In a card full of early stoppages, this was perhaps the most arguable but also the one in which the fighter (Gausha) had the least chance of pulling out a win, given the power differential.

"I was breaking him down so I just wanted to turn it up a little more each round,” said Hernandez in his post-fight interview. “The intensity was rising and my shots were getting harder.”

The fight, which aired on PPV.com, was again nearly one-sided, as Gausha (24-6-1, 12 KOs) never got to showcase his skills. Hernandez, with a deep amateur background, was faster and stronger than the 38-year-old, breaking the mold of the typical defense-first Cuban fighter. This was Hernandez’s most impressive win so far.

Carlos Adames lands a right hand on Terrell Gausha. — Carlos Adames lands a right hand on Terrell Gausha in their fight. | IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

Speak of The Devil

"I'm ready for any of the big names at middleweight,” said Hernandez. “I want every one of them. Line them up, I'll be ready."

Hernandez trains in Providence, Rhode Island, and will likely return soon to prepare for his next fight later this year. The only question is who he’ll face in the wide-open middleweight division.

Hernandez is also known for sparring with Canelo Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) before Canelo’s fight with Terrance Crawford last year. While Jaron “Boots” Ennis’s (35-0, 31 KOs) participation got headlines, Hernandez played a key role in helping Canelo prepare for Crawford, though Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) won the fight.

What’s going on in the middleweight division?

Janibek Alimkhanuly stops Anauel Ngamissengue — Janibek Alimkhanuly | IMAGO / AAP

The Cuban slugger tops the WBA rankings and is No. 4 with both the WBC and WBO. Kazakhstan’s Janibek Alimkhanuly previously unified the WBO and IBF world titles, but after testing positive for banned substances, his status remains unclear. The IBF stripped his title back in March.

Carlos Adames (25-1-1, 18 KOs) currently owns the WBC world title and cemented his claim with a successful defense against Austin “Ammo” Williams (20-2, 13 KOs).

As William Shakespeare reminds us in the Merchant of Venice, “The devil can cite scripture for his purpose.” But El Diablo may not need to—he aims to write his own middleweight script.