Yoan Pablo Hernandez makes the first defence of his IBF cruiserweight title when he takes on former two-time champion Steve Cunningham of the United States in a rematch at the Fraport Arena in Frankfurt tonight. In their first fight last October, an accidental clash of heads led to a severe cut above Hernandez's eye. After six rounds the fight was stopped, and because Hernandez had a slight points lead, he was awarded the decision and the title. Now the Cuban gets a chance to prove that his win was not a fluke, while Cunningham has an opportunity for revenge, plus the chance to become only the second ever three-time cruiserweight world champion (Carlos De Leon was the first.)

27-year-old Hernandez [25-1, 13 KOs] was born in Havana, Cuba but is now based in Halle, Germany. An outstanding amateur who boxed for Cuba in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Hernandez won the world Junior championships in 2002, and was the Cuban national heavyweight champion in 2005.

Hernandez defected from Cuba to Germany in 2005, and turned professional later that year with a second-round knockout over David Vicena in Berlin. Basing himself in the city of Halle, Hernandez boxed exclusively in Germany winning 14 flights in less than two years, nine inside the distance. His winning streak came to an end when he was TKO'd in three rounds by New York-based Guyanese former WBC cruiserweight champion Wayne Braithwaite, despite starting impressively and flooring his opponent in the first round.

A counter left hook floored Hernandez for the first of three third-round knockdowns, and despite the best efforts of the referee who actually helped Hernandez up after the first knockdown, he had suffered his first loss.

In retrospect, the Braithwaite bout was maybe a step too early for Hernandez, but after several confidence building victories, he bounced back with an impressive decision over contender Aaron Williams in 2009. Later that year he won the IBF Intercontinental cruiserweight title with a unanimous 12 round decision over Enad Licina of Serbia, and defended it the following year with a points win over Cesar David Crenz.

Hernandez impressed with a first-round blowout over one time prospect Ali Ismailov of Russia in December 2010, and followed that up two months later with a seventh round TKO over Frenchman Steve Herelius to win the interim WBA cruiserweight title.

The controversial win over Cunningham came next, and now the 6'4" Hernandez gets a chance to prove beyond doubt that he is the better fighter.

35-year-old Steve Cunningham [24-3, 12 KOs] is now entering his 13th year of his professional career. The Philadelphian is a tall, rangy ring technician, a defensively adept fighter who uses his 6'3'' height and 82 inch reach to great effect. Cunningham is always in phenomenal shape, and could easily remain a force at 200 lbs for a few more years yet.

Cunningham won his first 18 bouts - ten inside the distance - including a win over the amazing Panamanian Guillermo Jones, a fighter that began his career as a welterweight, won his first world title at light middleweight, and is currently the WBA cruiserweight champion aged 39.

In September 2005, Cunningham won a 12 round unanimous decision over fellow American Kelvin Davis in an IBF cruiserweight title eliminator but came up short in his first crack at the world crown, losing a split decision to Poland's Krzystof Wlodarczyk in Warsaw in November 2006.

Cunningham returned to Poland in May 2007  for a rematch with Wlodarczyk, and this time emerged with a majority decision victory and the IBF cruiserweight title belt. In December of that year he defended his title successfully in a sensational fight against the undefeated Serbian Marco Huck in Germany. The powerfully built Huck dominated the early rounds and several times during the fight had Cunningham in serious trouble, but the Philadelphian came on strong in the latter rounds and scored a sensational 12th round TKO over the man who has since become WBO champion and the dominant fighter in the division.

The win over Huck was a career defining victory for Cunningham, but he was surprisingly beaten in his next title defense in 2008 against Poland's former WBC light heavyweight champion Tomasz Adamek in Newark, New Jersey. The Pole gave away considerable height and reach advantage to Cunningham, yet bolstered by the large Polish contingent in the Prudential Center in Newark, edged a split decision victory.

Cunningham gained revenge over Wayne Braithwaite in his next fight with a ten round decision, and then regained the IBF cruiserweight title with a fifth round TKO over Troy Ross after Adamek decided to chance his arm in the heavyweight division. A successful defense against Enad Licina followed before Cunningham put his title on the line against Hernandez last October.

In that fight, Cunningham was floored in the opening round by a tremendous left hook to the side of the head. The American went down as if poleaxed, and when he arose was on shaky legs. With just seconds remaining in the round, Cunningham got on his bicycle and survived to the bell.

From then on, the American took control of the fight and was the aggressor from rounds 2 to 6. An accidental clash of heads in round four saw Hernandez suffered a deep cut above his left eye, and after round six his trainer Ulli Wegner called over the English referee Mickey Vann and announced that he wanted to stop the fight. As a result, the decision went to the scorecards, and the title changed hands via a split decision.

If on Saturday night both fighters continue where they left off four months ago, one would think that Cunningham would have the edge in terms of scoring points while Hernandez has the ability to end the fight inside the distance. The Cuban was overly cautious, even after scoring the knockdown - just as he was in his loss to Braithwaite - when he should have gone for broke. As for the knockdown itself, the blow caught Cunningham behind his ear and appeared to have momentarily taken away his equilibrium, but full credit must go to the American for his excellent powers of recovery.

Neither Hernandez nor Cunningham could be described as KO artists, and both men are accustomed to going the distance. Cunningham has gone 12 rounds seven times since 2005, and Hernandez has gone the championship course twice. However, the Cuban southpaw won his two previous bouts inside the distance and had Cunningham in serious trouble in the first round. He definitely has the edge in one-punch power.

The bookies cannot split these two, and initially had both men at evens while now they are tending to slightly favor Cunningham. However I believe that Hernandez wins this fight by a knockout in the late rounds. As a champion, Hernandez will have increased confidence and will box with less caution and more freedom than in the first fight, and he also knows he can hurt Cunningham, so will be looking for the knockout punch.

I see this fight being ultra-close up until the ending, with the Cuban landing a big left hand in the ninth round that either puts Cunningham down for the count, or causes a TKO.

Hernandez by KO in nine.

Big Fights Odds: Yoan Pablo Hernandez 20/21, Steve Cunningham 4/5 bet365