Before fights, boxers are all given the same instruction from the fight referee: “Protect yourself at all times.” Julian Fernandez ignored that instruction as a deliberate fight tactic, and it went as well as you might expect.
Fernandez was in action against undefeated prospect Frank Sanchez on a fight card in San Antonio, Texas at the weekend, and the 27-year-old Mexican decided to lean heavily on his chin as he looked to goad his opponent into letting down their guard… by letting down his own.
The Tijuana native was competing in his first fight since September 2019, and was clearly super-confident in his ability to take Sanchez’s best shots. Backed up against the ropes, Fernandez started to shout at Sanchez and hit his own chin, as he offered his opponent the chance of a free shot.
Given the fact that Sanchez had won 12 of his 16 career bouts by KO heading into their fight, it wasn’t the best idea.
“That’s a bold strategy Cotton, let’s see if it works out for him.” pic.twitter.com/YSSZkrp9gC
In a far-from-shocking turn of events, it turned out that asking his unbeaten opponent to punch him in the face wasn’t a winning tactic for Fernandez as, later in the fight, he was subsequently caught clean by a huge right hand that sent him falling into, then through, the ring ropes for a big knockout.
One fan on Twitter commented, “Well, you asked for it!” while another suggested Fernandez had, “watched too many Rocky movies.”
A third fight fan summed it up perfectly, by stating, “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!”
It meant that Sanchez improved his perfect professional record to 17-0 with his 13th career KO, while Fernandez suffered his third defeat.
And yes, they’ve all come via stoppage.
