Saturday, July 10, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

KEVIN IOLE: Hernandez adjusts to life without disgraced manager

The middle and latter parts of the 1990s were not good to Carlos Hernandez.

His boxing career was going nowhere. He had no promoter, no manager and -- significantly for someone who needs to pay the rent and buy the food -- little income.

His wife, Veronica, offered to take a job cleaning houses so the couple could pay its bills.

He refused.

She has a degree in psychology from the University of Nuevo Leon in Monterrey, Mexico, and he didn't want her to give up on what could be a lucrative future.

"She's an educated woman and I didn't want her throwing her education away and taking up a life doing that kind of work," Hernandez said. "Her mother is a doctor. Her father is a lawyer. I knew she could do so much more than just cleaning people's homes, though we really could have used the money at the time. But I begged her not to do it. We had to have patience."

His patience was rewarded when a friend suggested he contact a well-connected boxing manager. The manager, Hernandez's friend told him, will get you fights and get your career moving.

Desperate, Hernandez agreed. He hired Robert Mittleman as his manager. And, just like his friend had promised, Hernandez's career took off. Mittleman guided him to Top Rank, one of the two biggest promotional companies in the world, in 2001. He began getting significant fights. He fought on television.

Someone cared about him. Someone took the time to fight for his rights, to speak out on his behalf, to advocate for his interests.

"Robert did everything he said he would do," said Hernandez, who will put his IBF 130-pound title on the line on July 31 at the MGM in a unification bout with WBC champion Erik Morales. "He was our savior. He became a dear, dear friend."

But Mittleman will have no role when Hernandez faces Morales. In May, Mittleman pleaded guilty to fixing two fights and attempting to bribe a federal prosecutor and a judge. He promised to cooperate with the government.

Agents from the FBI raided Top Rank's Las Vegas office earlier this year in a wide-ranging joint probe with New York police. Mittleman is the first to be indicted in the probe.

When Hernandez heard that Mittleman, who had done so much for his family and who he insists had always acted honorably and ethically, had admitted to his crimes, he was shaken to his core.

"It devastated me," Hernandez said. "I never knew. This was something you see in the movies. I was very, very disappointed. He had been a great friend to me and he always will. I never knew about any of these things that he admitted to doing, but with me, he was nothing but class.

"When I met Robert, I was down in the dumps and he helped resurrect my career. I was borrowing money from friends. No one wanted to promote me. I was left on a shelf and forgotten. He turned it all around."

But pleading guilty to fixing a fight is as serious as it gets in boxing. Mittleman can never be allowed to represent a fighter again despite what he has done for Hernandez and others.

Hernandez turned to his wife to be his manager. Veronica Hernandez isn't the typical wife out of her league negotiating a contract.

She fought for and gained significant contract concessions for her husband. And that allowed him to worry only about preparing for Morales, one of the world's finest talents.

Hernandez will go into the fight with a clear mind, if not a heavy heart. And because of that, this will not be a simple victory stroll for Morales.

"If Robert did all of those things, it was wrong and he has to accept the consequences of his actions," Hernandez said. "But he never did anything like that with me and I still consider him a friend. I just thank God I had someone like Veronica around to help and step in. It was hard seeing this happen to a friend, but I've dealt with it and I'm ready to fight. Don't bet against me. You'll be making a mistake."

Kevin Iole's boxing column appears on Saturday. He can be reached by phone at 396-4428 or by e-mail at kiole@reviewjournal.com.