Wichita boxer Nico Hernandez wins Olympic opener

Wichita’s Nico Hernandez opened his Olympic boxing tournament by winning a 3-0 decision over Italy’s Manuel Cappai on Saturday evening at the Riocentro Pavilion 6 in Barra’s Olympic Park.

Cappai, fighting in his second Olympics, was the more aggressive boxer in the first round and won the round on two of three cards. But Hernandez, a 20-year-old light-flyweight competing in his first Olympics, swept the cards in round two and landed some combinations in the final round to ensure victory.

Next up for Hernandez is Russia’s Vasilii Egorov, the tournament’s No. 2 seed. That bout is scheduled for Monday at 5:45 p.m.

This story was originally published August 6, 2016 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Wichita boxer Nico Hernandez wins Olympic opener."