Wichita’s Nico Hernandez talks Zika virus, AIBA boxing controversy ahead of Olympics

Nico Hernandez isn’t a professional, yet. He just acts a lot like one.

Take this week, when the Team USA light flyweight — and Wichita’s first Olympian since 2004 — sat down and parsed out answers to controversial topics surrounding the upcoming Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and his sport, boxing, that might’ve sent some amateurs spinning.

First, he’s not wrapped up in the controversy surrounding the Zika virus and some calls from medical professionals to boycott the Olympics because of it and some high-profile athletes expressing concerns about going to Brazil, including basketball star Pau Gasol and women’s tennis player Serena Williams.

That’s not to say he is staying unaware, though. Quite the opposite.

“I was in Argentina in March for Continentals and we got a pretty thorough description of (Zika) and the dangers when we got there,” said Hernandez, who turned 20 in January. “I’m aware of it, I’m just not worried about it. I pay attention a lot through social networks, but I’m focused on the tournament and trying to win a gold medal."

Zika, a mosquito-borne virus, can cause birth defects and microcephaly, a disorder in which infants are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains and is especially dangerous to pregnant women and women who are trying to become pregnant.

Adults can suffer from neurological problems that can prove fatal in some rare cases.

The World Health Organization declared Zika a global health emergency earlier this year, but announced last week there is no “public health justification” to postpone the Olympics.

Hernandez also talked about the controversy within his own sport this week, when the AIBA, which oversees international amateur boxing, ruled Wednesday that pro boxers are eligible to compete in the Olympics, starting with Rio.

The decision was met with almost unilateral derision, and the World Boxing Council answered in a big way, saying that any of its champions or boxers ranked in its top 10 would face a two-year ban if they chose to fight in the Olympics.

“I really don’t think it’s a good idea, it ruins the whole point of being an amateur,” Hernandez said. “My goal as being an amateur was to make the Olympics. With this rule, you might as well turn pro when you’re 15 or 16 years old.

“I also don’t think it’s going to impact this Olympics very much. These pros are training for 12-round fights, where you’re going slow starting up and kind of build up to it. In a three-round fight, you don’t have time to warm up. You’ve got to just go. Pros also have the advantage of that they weigh in the day before a fight, and in that one day you can rehydrate and gain some weight back. At the Olympics, you weigh in every day. You weigh in the day you fight.”

Hernandez has already packed a summer’s worth of travel into May, going to New York for media appearances and back and forth between the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and Wichita, where he even brought fellow Olympian Shakur Stevenson back home with him.

He was scheduled to appear in Friday night’s opening parade for the Wichita Riverfest and have a film crew follow him around for a Team USA “Day in the Life” featurette on Wednesday before heading back to Colorado Springs on Thursday.

He’s not scheduled to be back in Wichita until after the Olympics at the end of August.

“I came home a little early last week because I was battling a little bit of an illness,” Hernandez said. “I’m feeling a lot better now and got the go-ahead from the team doctor to start workouts again. It was actually nice to get a little break, to let my body recover, but I’m ready to get back to work.”

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Wichita’s Nico Hernandez talks Zika virus, AIBA boxing controversy ahead of Olympics."