Top-rated middleweight Yoenli Hernandez has issued a stern warning to his next opponent, Francisco Veron, as well as to the rest of the 160lbs division.
Already ranked No. 1 by both the WBA and WBO, and No. 2 by the WBC, Hernandez, 10-0 (9 KOs), will meet WBC No. 7 Veron, 17-1-1 (10 KOs), in the 10-round co-main event of the Rolly Romero vs. Teofimo Lopez “Put up or Shut up” PBC Pay-Per-View event on Saturday, August 22, live on DAZN and Prime Video (8 pm ET/5 pm PT) from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“El Diablo” Hernandez of Camaguey, Cuba, and now living in Providence, Rhode Island, says he’s not happy with some of the pre-fight remarks Veron, of Villa Libertador, Buenos Aires, has been making about him.
“Verón says that I am still a ‘very amateur’ boxer,’” said Hernandez. “He thinks that fighting me is like fighting an amateur. He’s talking too much. It’s one thing to call the devil, another to see him arrive. I see him saying he’ll put me in situations no one has put me in before, and I hope he’s not one of those talkers who doesn’t back up their words inside the ring.
29-year-old Hernandez adds he finds it hard to believe Varon will be able to summon what it would take to push him in a fight.
“I’m going all out,” he said. “I’m coming to win. And if he (Veron) says he’s going to come forward in the ring, he’ll have to have more drive than me. And for him to have more drive than me, we’ll have to see it to believe it.”
Hernandez, who scored a shutout unanimous 10-round decision over Kyrone Davis in May 2025, as well as a fourth-round TKO over former world title challenger Terrell Gausha in March of this year, says he’s got more than any other fighter in his division and will soon be crowned the latest amateur prodigy turned world champion from Cuba.
“I’m the best middleweight in the world right now,” said Hernandez. “My hunger for glory, my desire to be champion and win every title—that’s something I don’t see in the rest of the division. Everyone seems to arrive, get the title, and settle. Not me. I’m coming to get the title, keep it, and fight the best. Lately, nobody in my weight class wants to face the best.”
