BOXING 101; HERNANDEZ TEACHES GERENA A LESSON.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer

Carlos Gerena, down on points and desperate for a knockout in the final round, tried to goad WBC super featherweight champion Genaro Hernandez into a brawl.

Hernandez kept his distance and simply smiled, as if to say, ``Are you nuts? This baby's mine.''

That was the difference in the fight, Hernandez's experience. He gave his young challenger a boxing lesson en route to a one-sided decision Saturday before an estimated 2,000 at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio.

The judges scored it 116-113, 117-113 and 117-111 for Hernandez, who was making the third defense of his title.

Now, Hernandez appears to be on the cusp of the biggest payday of his career: A date with talented, but raw Olympian Floyd Mayweather in September or October.

``I knew I had the fight won,'' he said of the final-round theatrics. ``All I had to do was just move around and jab him and smack him and do what I know how to do, and that's box.''

The champion's superior boxing ability was abundantly clear from the start.

Hernandez (38-1-1, with 17 knockouts) danced and jabbed and countered beautifully all fight long as the aggressive, but baffled Gerena (28-2, 24 KOs) chased him in vain. Hernandez outpunched him 2-1.

And the few times he was able to catch the 32-year-old champion, things didn't go much better.

Gerena, a Puerto Rican five years Hernandez's junior, pinned him against the ropes in the second round and flailed away. When it was over, Hernandez had inflicted at least as much damage as Gerena.

And in a thrilling ninth, Gernea attacked Hernandez viciously and recklessly only to narrowly avoid being knocked out with several big right hands.

Gerena, a relative unknown, gave a decent account of himself but Hernandez was in control from the beginning.

``He came in very good shape,'' Hernandez said. ``He didn't give me anything easy. I hit him with several shots cleanly in the face and saw that he withstood them.

``I was just trying to play it smart, to do the right thing. It didn't matter if I had to go 12 rounds or not.''

Gerena was frustrated afterward, but not with the decision.

He knew he had lost.

``I learned a lot from Genaro,'' Gerena said. ``I had a good couple of rounds but I think I lost the fight. He was a lot better than I expected.''

In another championship bout, Erik Morales stopped Jose Luis Bueno at 1:19 of the second round to retain his WBC super bantamweight title.

Morales (30-0, 24 KOs) knocked down Bueno (30-9-2, 21 KOs) with a right-left combination in the second.

Moments after Bueno got up, Morales landed a crushing right to the head that sent the challenger to canvas again. Referee Marty Sammon ended the bout without counting.

Morales, from Tijuana, Mexico, is negotiating to fight former two-time champion Junior Jones in September.

Unbeaten Puerto Rican Olympian Daniel Santos defeated Fidel Avendano by a unanimous decision in a 10-round welterweight bout.

And Cesar Soto outpointed Jose Ayala in a 10-round featherweight bout.