Dusty Harrison-Hernandez ending lengthy layoff down nearly 100 pounds

Dusty Harrison-Hernandez hates Uber Eats. DoorDash, too. 

The food delivery services serve as reminders of the bad habits and the extra weight the boxer put on during a 3½-year layoff. At his heaviest, the 29-year-old ballooned to 280 pounds. Harrison-Hernandez knew he needed a change — so out went the late-night food orders. He was determined to resume his boxing career.

“Truthfully, when I wasn’t fighting,” he says, “I didn’t like the person that I was.” 

Harrison-Hernandez returns to the ring Friday in Richmond at 186.6 pounds — nearly 100 pounds lighter than he was before he started training seriously. The District native is set to face off against Ronald Montes, a journeyman with a lowly 19-18-1 record. But putting the quality of the opponent aside, Harrison-Hernandez’s goal is just to get back to boxing — and staying as active as possible. After Friday’s bout, Harrison-Hernandez is scheduled to fight on Oct. 21 in Frederick, Maryland. 

Once a highly touted welterweight prospect, Harrison-Hernandez admits he’s restarting his career basically from scratch. He still touts an undefeated 34-0-1 record, but he no longer gets the kind of recognition he got when he regularly fought on television. His goal is to eventually compete at middleweight (160 pounds), though he first has to show that he’s serious about the sport once again — and he has more weight to lose.

But those goals can come with time. For Harrison-Hernandez, just getting back in the ring is progress. He’s attempted several returns over the past few years, only to see the bouts canceled. 

Harrison-Hernandez was set to restart his career a year ago until his father, Buddy, was shot and killed days before the event, leading to the fight’s postponement. When the fight was rescheduled that November, Harrison-Hernandez withdrew the day prior because he was still mourning. 

Harrison-Hernandez, though, isn’t just fighting in his dad’s memory. He said he wants a comeback on his own terms.

“When you fight your whole life, and I see this in a lot of boxers, having a fight schedule and having something to train for, it’s like what reels us in,” Harrison-Hernandez said. “It’s like a guideline in life. And I just I really got really out of control without having any structure. I didn’t like myself not fighting. 

“That was my biggest push and motivation.”

Harrison-Hernandez is still grieving the loss of his dad. Buddy Harrison, after all, got his son into boxing and served as his trainer for most of his career. The 29-year-old said he’s in the process of getting a foundation set up in his dad’s honor to help give back to the community in some of the ways his dad used to do. 

But life has also changed for the boxer in a number of ways. For one, Harrison-Hernandez’s son was born in June — the boxer found out his wife was pregnant a month after his father’s murder. Harrison-Hernandez — formerly known as Hernandez-Harrison — also has started to go by Harrison-Hernandez, putting his mother’s surname last to keep up with Puerto Rican tradition. 

Mike Walters, Harrison-Hernandez’s longtime friend who also advises the boxer, said he’s seen Harrison-Hernandez rediscover his joy for boxing, in the process. He noted how in November 2020, Harrison-Hernandez opened his own gym — and working with amateurs reignited his passion for the sport. 

But it wasn’t until this March that Walters started to see his friend really take the sport seriously. Gone were the cheat meals and other bad habits that caused him to put him on the weight.

“He’s truly rededicated himself,” Walters said. 

Didn’t share this here. Can’t believe I let myself get that big. Barely recognize myself there. on the right was the last sparring session for this camp. Nearly 100lbs down I step in the ring for the first time in over 3 years. Couldn’t be happier. Will miss my dad in my corner pic.twitter.com/BX2d6oNM0x

— Dusty Harrison (@Dusty30th) September 14, 2023

Walters knows the tough road Harrison-Hernandez could face in the months ahead as he looks to re-establish his career. The advisor said the days of Harrison-Hernandez being the “A-side” of a major, non-District card were over. But he was optimistic that if he was active enough, Harrison-Hernandez could get ranked in the top 10 and vie for a title shot in the next year. 

That’s fine by Harrison-Hernandez. He said he’s happy to stay active, even if it means earning less money than what you’d expect with someone with 35 fights. 

“I got to start over in the boxing people’s eyes,” Harrison-Hernandez said. “I’ve been blessed to have a support system just happy to see me back in the ring. … I want to stay really active as if it is the beginning of my career.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story misreported the nature of the late Buddy Harrison’s career.