Wichitan Nico Hernandez prepares for first fight Saturday in Olympics

The Olympic Games for boxer Nico Hernandez, the first Wichitan in the Olympics since 2004, begin on Saturday when the 20-year-old North graduate fights in the opening round of the single-elimination light flyweight bracket.

Hernandez, representing the United States, will fight Italy’s Manuel Cappai at 3:30 p.m. Central time. A live stream will be available at NBCOlympics.com and NBC Sports Network is expected to air highlights from the fight on their 8 p.m. broadcast.

Hernandez’s father, Lewis, was miffed by the draw that was announced Thursday. While 10 boxers received byes to the round of 16, Hernandez was among the 12 fighters who will have win one more bout to reach medal territory. If Hernandez wins Saturday, he would face Russia’s Vasilii Egorov, who enters as a medal contender, in Monday’s second round.

“Amateur boxing is very political and I don’t care what they say, everybody hates the USA,” Lewis said in a phone call from Rio. “Every international tournament like this I’ve seen, unless you knock your guy out, you’re probably not going to get a fair shake. If you’re from the USA, then that makes it very difficult.”

Another concern has been Nico’s health after he sprained his ankle during training in July, according to Lewis. The injury prevented Hernandez from sparring in the ring until the start of this week, five days ahead of his first fight.

“Do I think Nico can do it? Yes, absolutely because Nico is the best fighter I have seen in the world in his weight class,” Lewis said. “It’s going to be tough, but I think he’ll adjust and do what he has to do. There’s a lot of great fighters here, but he’s earned his way to be right there with them. He doesn’t make excuses. He’s accustomed to adjusting and doing what he has to when it comes time.”

Lewis, who has been Nico’s coach since his son was 7, has been frustrated with his lack of involvement in Nico’s training leading up to Rio. He has had minimal contact with him since arriving in Rio and Lewis will not be in Nico’s corner for Saturday’s fight.

He believes the style he crafted with Nico, the style that they used to reach Rio, gives him the best chance at earning a medal. But that’s not the style Nico will fight on Saturday.

“I’ve seen them tell him to do some stupid things in the ring and then I’ll ask Nico about it and he says he’s just doing what they’re telling me to do,” Lewis said. “I mean, you have to listen to your coaches. He’s in that mindset. Whatever they tell him to do, he’s going to execute it. I’m so used to being in his corner. Me and him work so good together and we started from the bottom together. I’m nervous. I’m just hoping and praying that they tell him what he needs to do in the corner. Fights can be won and lost by who you have in your corner.”

Lewis said Nico would not be a part of Friday’s opening ceremony since he is fighting the next day and athletes in the ceremony will be on their feet for several hours.

And for his review of Rio so far? It’s as crazy as it sounds.

“You think of Brazil and you think it’s going to be good, but this is different than what I would have imagined,” Lewis said. “It’s pretty crazy down here. You’ve got military police walking around with their guns on the streets. And then you see the people and there’s some real poverty down here. When I first got here, I was like, ‘Oh my God, what did I get myself into?’ ”

This story was originally published August 5, 2016 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Wichitan Nico Hernandez prepares for first fight Saturday in Olympics."