Gerson Escobar Romero vs Eduardo Hernandez Preview Jan. 17th, 2026
Eduardo ‘Rocky’ Hernandez of Mexico City returns to the ring in his hometown this Saturday, January 17th when he takes on fellow countryman Gerson Escobar Romero. The 10-round lightweight fight can be seen live in America on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes. Hernandez last saw action in February when he beat Rene Tellez Giron by a wide 12-round unanimous decision. Escobar’s last outing resulted in a fifth-round TKO over Jose Hernandez Flores in December to halt an eight-fight losing skid.
Escobar vs Hernandez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Gerson Escobar +1100
- Eduardo Hernandez -2500
My Pick
Hernandez is 28 years old and carries around an impressive mark of 37-2 with 32 Ko’s. He measures just over 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 68-inch reach and has boxed 120 rounds since turning pro back in 2014 as a teenager. Where Hernandez really shines is in the power department as 86.5 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. He has failed to halt his last two opponents though after earning stoppages in his previous 29 victories.
His first defeat came at the hands of Roger Gutierrez in July 2019 when he was stopped in just 159 seconds and he second loss was a 12th-round TKO to O’ Shaquie Foster in a shot at the WBC Super Featherweight Title in October, 2023. Hernandez was well ahead on two of the judge’s scorecards when the fight was stopped and came within 22 seconds of lifting the title. During his career, Hernandez has captured the vacant WBC Youth Super Featherweight Title in 2017 and defended it five times.
He also won the WBC International Silver Super Featherweight Belt in June, 2022 when he stopped Jorge Castaneda in 95 seconds and defended it against Jorge Mata Cuellar via a fifth-round TKO. Hernandez struggled when he stepped up in class against ex-world champion Gutierrez but seemed to be taking the fight to Foster when he was stopped. Hernandez hasn’t been taking the easy route though as just six of his 39 opponents entered the ring with losing records. His bout against Thomas Mattice in 2024 was won by a six-round unanimous technical decision as the scheduled 12 rounder was stopped when Hernandez couldn’t continue due to a cut left eye following an accidental head butt.
Gerson is reportedly 36 years of age and makes the ring walk with a mark of 9-14-3 and has 146 rounds of pro experience under his belt since making his debut in 2016. Unfortunately there’s no height and reach information for him so we don’t know how he stacks up size-wise against Hernandez. However, as far as power is concerned, 55.6 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage.
His victories are few and far between though as Gerson’s win in December snapped an eight-fight losing streak which saw him stopped in six of those contests including the last three in a row. His most notable opponent has been Eduardo Nunez, who halted him in six rounds in December, 2019. He was also stopped in just 58 seconds by Lindolfo Delgado in 2017 very early in both boxer’s careers. Gerson fought for the vacant Mexican Featherweight Title in 2018 and dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Edwin Palomares.
Prediction…
This fight really looks like a complete mismatch on paper as we’ve got a power puncher in Hernandez facing an opponent who has just nine wins in 26 fights and has been stopped in seven of his 14 losses. This is simply a keep-busy outing for Hernandez or a step backwards. No matter however you look at it, Hernandez should take care of Gerson quite quickly.
The hard-hitting Hernandez in a bit of a mismatch.
Play: Hernandez -2500 @ BetOnline.ag
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Eduardo Hernandez betting • Gerson Escobar Romero betting