Mickey Bey Jr. reveals that he fought with fractured hands during his majority draw with Jose Hernandez

 

Las Vegas, NV- Dealing with adversity is a huge part of any aspiring talent in the sport of boxing. Undefeated junior lightweight Mickey Bey Jr. knows this all too well, as he had his share of it this past weekend during his hard-fought draw with tough prospect Jose Hernandez inside of the Mandalay Bay.

 

Fighting on the undercard of Nonito Donaire's HBO-televised deafening knockout over Fernando Montiel, Bey knew that all several eyes would be on him but unfortunately he was the victim of two fractured hands during his bout with Hernandez, an occurrence that would prevent him from performing at the level he desired on Saturday night.

 

Looking back on how the eight-round fight played out, Bey insists he could feel himself gaining an advantage over his 24-year old foe moments before his first injury occurred.

 

"Towards the end of the third round I clearly hurt him," said Bey. "I felt that I pretty much had him out but that's when I re-injured my right hand. Later in the fourth round I would end up hurting my left hand and the fight was completely different after that."

 

During Bey's previous fight, a November unanimous decision over Eric Cruz, he would suffer a fracture in his right hand, the same injury that resurfaced Saturday night against Hernandez. The follow-up injury to his left hand only added to his frustrations but he insists he coped with the situation as best he could.

 

"I continued to throw, and not taking anything away from the opponent, he fought a tough fight, but it was hard to fight a fighter like that with no hands," Bey continued. "I had to fight through the pain. I tired to box but in my head, my pain was so bad that it felt like I was hitting a brick wall. I couldn't close my hands, my fists where in pain but I still tried to stay calm. I tried to out box him but it was a tough guy who kept coming so I had to constantly throw punches to keep him off. My hands were just killing me."

 

Hernandez is no slouch, as his 10-4-1 record has only seen him lose to fellow prospects such as Matt Remillard, Sharif Bogere, Oscar Meza, and Golden Boy Promotions' Michael Perez, whom he battled to a spirited split decision December in Puerto Rico. Reflecting on his personal tussle with Hernandez, you can sense how differently Bey wishes things could have played out.

 

"I still thought I won the fight but I'm not Superman," Bay claimed. "I felt that I won, and under that circumstance, against a real tough opponent who came to fight, I felt that I did the best I could against a fighter like that. Because this guy came to fight the whole fight. It was a nightmare but I did my best."

 

Bey still sports a 16-0-1 record with 8 knockouts and with a recent signing with Top Rank under his belt, his future is still extremely bright. Working under the tutelage of trainer Jeff Mayweather, he is constantly learning while in the gym and can't wait to get back into the ring and show people who the real Mickey Bey is.

 

"First things first I want this to heal. It was definite a lesson and I still thought I won. I just want to heal up and get right back on track. I'll let my hands heal and then get right back to the promise land."