Wichita Olympic boxer Nico Hernandez to fight bare-knuckle style at Intrust Arena
The gloves are coming off for Nico Hernandez, the Wichita boxer who took the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics.
Hernandez, who holds the IBA flyweight title and has a 7-0 record with four knockouts as a professional boxer, will fight in a main event in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 11 at the Intrust Bank Arena on March 14, arena officials announced Monday.
A co-main event on the fight card features Wichita native and former Bellator mixed-martial-arts veteran Dave “Caveman” Rickels. He competes in the 165-pound division.
The announcement did not say who Hernandez’ or Rickels’ opponents will be. Calls to the public relations company promoting the fight were unanswered and the firm’s voice-mail box was full and not accepting messages.
On Twitter last week, Hernandez quipped that he’s looking forward to the switch from traditional boxing.
“I can finally hit somebody without gloves without catching a case haha!” he tweeted.
Hernandez attended Saturday’s Wichita State University basketball game and was treated to a lengthy ovation when he was picked out in the crowd and shown on the arena scoreboard.
Hernandez has been one of Wichita’s most prominent sports heroes since the Rio De Janeiro Olympics, where he went on a Cinderella run and took home the bronze.
He was the first Wichitan to win an Olympic medal since 1984 and the first to win in an individual sport since runner Jim Ryun in 1968.
Hernandez has fought all of his professional bouts at the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane or at the Hartman Arena in Park City.
“It’s been a goal of mine to fight at Intrust Bank Arena ever since it was first built,” Hernandez said in the statement announcing the bare-knuckle fight. “I have yet to fight in Wichita. I’ve fought close by, but not actually in my city, so I’m really excited about this fight. I can’t wait to put on a show.”
Tickets for the March 14 fight event will go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday at the arena box office, at www.selectaseat.com and by phone at 855-733-7328.
The fight will also be carried on nationwide pay-per-view outlets and some streaming services.
This story was originally published January 27, 2020 at 6:07 PM.
