By Pavel Yakovlev, photo by Joey Hill – Heavyweight contenders can sigh with relief…at least for a while. Fres Oquendo is out of action for six weeks due to a broken right hand. The injury occurred during the Boricua Bomber’s seventh round stoppage of Robert Hawkins last week. In the third round, Oquendo landed numerous crunching rights, twice flooring the brick-chinned Hawkins and nearly ending the fight. But by the end of the round, Oquendo’s right was throbbing with pain. The next day, an orthopedist confirmed what Oquendo and his cornermen suspected: that the hand was broken.
“My hand was in excruciating pain. I felt it for the whole fight after the third,” said Oquendo. “But I didn’t tell anyone. I just wanted to get the job done.” Oquendo compensated for the injury by switching his attack to the body, even though he continued to fire rights to the head. Oquendo’s manager Tom Tsatas explained, “Fres didn’t let up despite the pain. He knew Hawkins has a hard head, so he started driving both hands to the body. It worked.”