Once Tucker learned they’d fight to become the No. 1 challenger for Erislandy Lara’s WBA belt, not for the interim championship, he and his team turned down that opportunity on the Sebastian Fundora-Keith Thurman undercard March 28 in Las Vegas. Tucker took a tune-up fight instead, which resulted in a sixth-round stoppage of Sona Akale on February 28.

The Brooklyn native has since accepted another high-stakes fight against unbeaten opponent, Dominican contender Euri Cedeno, on the Xander Zayas-Jaron Ennis undercard June 27 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Tucker (16-1-1, 7 KOs) still wants to face Cuba’s Hernandez (10-0, 9 KOs), The Ring’s No. 2 contender for a vacant championship, but he believes he should earn more than the $100,000 purse he was offered and that a title should be at stake.

“For a fight with [Hernandez],” Tucker told The Ring, “I wouldn’t have got the respect that I wanted, I wouldn’t have got the money that I wanted and I wouldn’t have got the belt to show for it. I felt like it was a lose-lose situation.”

The prideful Tucker, who is not ranked among The Ring’s top 10, acknowledged he reached that conclusion thanks to those that advise him.

“We duck no smoke, bro – never have, never will,” Tucker said. “And this is one of those things where I’ve had to get smarter, because I still was down to take the fight. But my advisers, and luckily I’ve got a good team around me, and my dad sat me down and said, ‘Hey Jahi, business-wise, this is what you have to do.’ They showed me from a grown man’s perspective, like, ‘Look at it. Don’t just get blinded by the smoke in your face. Look at it, bro.’ ”

Defeating Cedeno (14-0-1, 12 KOs) on this DAZN Pay-Per-View/DAZN Ultimate show would enhance Tucker’s chances of fighting for a middleweight title.

Three regional championships are at stake and the winner will therefore move up in the IBF, WBC and WBO ratings. The IBF ranks Tucker ninth and Cedeno 10th, the WBO lists Cedeno seventh and Tucker at No. 13 and neither fighter is in the WBC’s top 15.

Tucker, 23, has won six straight bouts since he lost an eight-round majority decision to Nicklaus Flaz (then 10-2) and settled for an eight-round majority draw with Francisco Veron (then 3-0) in back-to-back bouts in 2023.

In hindsight, Tucker is thankful that he didn’t fight Hernandez, who instead became the first fighter to stop longtime contender Terrell Gausha (24-6-1, 12 KOs) in the fourth round March 28.

“The money didn’t make sense,” Tucker said. “At first, I accepted the fight. They offered me [$100,000], plus the interim belt. So, I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ll take that. I get a interim belt and that strengthens my case.’ Beat the boogeyman guy who they’ve been raving about. You feel me? That strengthens my case, for real. But then, what happens is, they say, ‘Jahi, here’s what we can do. We’re gonna take the interim belt off the table. We’re gonna keep the same [purse of $100,000], but we’re taking the interim belt off the table and you’re fighting for the No. 1 contender spot.’ And in my brain, I’m like, ‘OK, I’m going into PBC [territory] to go fight him. They’re taking the belt off the line. I can get [$100,000] elsewhere.’

“That No. 1 contender spot didn’t entice me to take that fight. Especially when I see a lotta these guys who get to fight guys who [aren’t as good as Hernandez]. A fight like me and [Hernandez], that’s a championship-worthy fight, easily. I’m not gonna fight a championship-worthy fight to be called a number one contender and then have to fight another guy to prove myself again. Even this [Cedeno] fight, the main reason I took this fight is like, ‘Yo, this is my shot. This is my hometown, Brooklyn. I could earn something here.’ And I know I could get him outta there. You feel me? It’s just a matter of just doing it now.”