Hozumi Hasegawa
Encyclopedia
is a professional boxer and a former WBC
world bantamweight
champion and former WBC
world Featherweight
champion. He received consecutive MVP awards from the Japanese Boxing Commission in 2005 and 2006 for his title defenses, and is the only Japanese boxer to have defended a world bantamweight title over four times.
, Hasegawa made his professional debut in 1999. Despite losing two four-round fights by decision early in his career, he defeated Jesse Maca by 12-round decision in 2003 to win the OPBF
bantamweight title, which he defended three times before returning the belt on December 20, 2004.
Hasegawa fought long-time champion Veeraphol Sahaprom
on April 16, 2005 at Nippon Budokan
. Sahaprom had defended the WBC bantamweight title fifteen times over six years, and had not been defeated for almost a decade. Hasegawa fought effectively, leading the first four rounds, before Sahaprom fought back to win the middle rounds. Sahaprom tired in the later rounds, allowing Hasegawa to become more aggressive, shaking Sahaprom in Round 10. The fight went to a decision, and the judges gave Hasegawa a 3-0 victory, ending Sahaprom's long reign over the bantamweight division.
Hasegawa made his first title defense on September 25, 2005 at Yokohama Arena
. Hasegawa was originally scheduled to fight WBC top-ranked contender Diego Morales
. However, Morales backed out of the fight due to an injury, and the eighth-ranked contender, Geraldo Martinez, was hastily called up as a substitute. Hasegawa had been sparring with southpaws in preparation to fight Morales, who was a southpaw, but the change to Martinez meant he would now be fighting an orthodox style fighter. Hasegawa took an early lead in the fight, knocking Martinez down twice in the 2nd round (ruled as slips by the referee), and once in the 3rd round. Hasegawa put Martinez down again early in the 7th with a dazzling left straight, and the fight erupted into a massive slugfest between the two fighters. Hasegawa knocked Martinez down two more times in the same round, prompting the referee to stop the fight. Hasegawa marked his first title defense with a TKO victory. This was also the day of his wedding anniversary.
On March 25, 2006, Hasegawa returned to fight in his hometown, Kobe
, for the first time after becoming world champion. Hasegawa's opponent for his second title defense was again Veeraphol Sahaprom, who had compiled five consecutive wins to become the top-ranked WBC contender after losing his title to Hasegawa a year ago. It was rumored that Sahaprom had not been in top condition when he lost to Hasegawa, and many speculated that Sahaprom had not fought to the best of his ability in the previous fight. Both fighters started off slowly, but Hasegawa's shots gradually began to land on Sahaprom, and almost knocked out Sahaprom with a powerful left uppercut in the 6th. Sahaprom fought back in the 7th and 8th rounds, landing body shots, but Hasegawa landed a stunning right hook only ten seconds into the 9th round to knock out Sahaprom.
The third title defense took place on November 13, 2006, at Nippon Budokan
, where Hasegawa first won the title. The challenger was Mexican
fighter Genaro Garcia, ranked 1st in the WBC. Hasegawa knocked Garcia down with a left uppercut in the 4th round, but Garcia showed surprising resilience, landing powerful body shots in the middle rounds. Hasegawa suffered a light cut in the 7th round, which was worsened by a head-butt from Garcia in the 8th. Hasegawa managed to knock down Garcia again in the 8th, though his own face was covered with blood, and his eye was practically sealed shut from the cut. Hasegawa showed able defensive skills to ride out the 12th round, and won with a unanimous 3-0 decision. After the fight, Hasegawa was visited by WBC Super Flyweight Champion Masamori Tokuyama
, who gave Hasegawa a hand-written letter challenging him for his bantamweight title. If the fight with Tokuyama had taken place, it would have been a huge match-up between two Japan-based world champions, but Hasegawa declined the offer, wanting to fight non-Japanese challengers instead. Tokuyama retired shortly afterwards.
Hasegawa fought undefeated challenger Simpiwe Vetyeka of South Africa
on May 3, 2007, for the fourth defense of his title. Very little was known about the challenger, Vetyeka, except that he had an undefeated record (16-0-0), and had defended the South African bantamweight title five times, winning four of those fights by knockout. He was also said to have compiled an exceptional career in the amateur ring. The fight itself was rather anticlimactic, as there had been huge excitement about the May 3 card, which featured two other world title matchups. Both Hasegawa and Vetyeka wanted to land counter punches, leading to a great deal of inactivity from both sides. Neither fighter seemed willing to expose themselves, and few hard punches were thrown in the early rounds of the fight. The open scoring system was used in the fight, and Hasegawa was leading in the judges' scorecards going into the later rounds, but Vetyeka continued to lay back and wait for Hasegawa to attack. Hasegawa finally stepped up to decisively win the final two rounds, and won his fourth defense with a unanimous decision. There was some frustration after the fight, because both Hasegawa and Vetyeka complained that one of the advertisements in the middle of the ring was causing their feet to slip. This was the first world title defense where Hasegawa was unable to knock down his opponent in the fight.
Hasegawa defended his title for the fifth time on January 10, 2008 with a 12-round unanimous decision victory against top-ranked WBC contender Simone Maludrottu
. Hasegawa had transferred to the newly established Shinsei Boxing Gym in Kobe
along with its founder and his trainer, Masato Yamashita, during the 8 month layoff since his last defense. Despite suffering a cut above his right eye early in the fight, Hasegawa dominated the fight to win by unanimous decision. This made him the first Japanese boxer to have defended a bantamweight world title over four times.
He defended it again for the sixth time, defeating Venezuela's Cristian Faccio with a 2nd round TKO on June 12, 2008.
Hasegawa fought on October 16th, 2008 where he defended his title for the 7th time by taking on Mexican prospect Alejandro Valdez. Hasegawa won the fight by technical knockout in the second round.
His 8th title defense was a lot more impressive as he stopped Vusi Malinga in a single round on March 12, 2009.
He defended it again for the 9th time, defeating USA's Nestor Rocha with a 1st round TKO on July 14, 2009.
He defended his title for the tenth time by knocking out Alvaro Perez on December 12, 2009.
of Mexico. Although Montiel holds a title in the same division, it wasn't on the line because of JBC policy. At the bout, Hasegawa won the first 3 rounds, frustrating the Mexican visitor. In the 4th round Montiel managed to land an attack on Hasegawa, leaving the hometown fighter vulnerable for more blows. The referee declared stoppage and this was Hasegawa's first knockout loss. Aside of losing the match and the title, Hasegawa also suffered a shattered jaw. The injury was caused not by Montiel's barrage of attacks in the 4th round but by an impact Hasegawa took in the 1st.
Hasegawa was nominated as return of the year for the Best of 2010 awards by WBC, but was granted the most dramatic fight of the year for the match against Fernando Montiel, after all.
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
world bantamweight
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...
champion and former WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
world Featherweight
Featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
champion. He received consecutive MVP awards from the Japanese Boxing Commission in 2005 and 2006 for his title defenses, and is the only Japanese boxer to have defended a world bantamweight title over four times.
Boxing career
Born as the second of five children in Nishiwaki, HyōgoNishiwaki, Hyogo
is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.The city calls itself "The Navel of Japan ." Located at the crossing of the 135° East meridian and the 35° North parallel, the city's Nihon no Heso Park marks the center of the nation...
, Hasegawa made his professional debut in 1999. Despite losing two four-round fights by decision early in his career, he defeated Jesse Maca by 12-round decision in 2003 to win the OPBF
Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation
The Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation is a professional boxing organization that sanctions title fights in the Asian and Pacific region.-History:The OPBF was formed in 1954 by the Japanese, Korean, and Filipino boxing commissions...
bantamweight title, which he defended three times before returning the belt on December 20, 2004.
Hasegawa fought long-time champion Veeraphol Sahaprom
Veeraphol Sahaprom
Veerapol Sahaprom is a former WBC and WBA Bantamweight Champion. He is from the Nakhon Ratchasima Province in Thailand...
on April 16, 2005 at Nippon Budokan
Nippon Budokan
The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in central Tokyo, Japan.This is the location where many "Live at the Budokan" albums were recorded...
. Sahaprom had defended the WBC bantamweight title fifteen times over six years, and had not been defeated for almost a decade. Hasegawa fought effectively, leading the first four rounds, before Sahaprom fought back to win the middle rounds. Sahaprom tired in the later rounds, allowing Hasegawa to become more aggressive, shaking Sahaprom in Round 10. The fight went to a decision, and the judges gave Hasegawa a 3-0 victory, ending Sahaprom's long reign over the bantamweight division.
Hasegawa made his first title defense on September 25, 2005 at Yokohama Arena
Yokohama Arena
is an indoor sporting arena located in Yokohama, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five minute walk from the closest subway station, Shin-Yokohama Station on the JR/Yokohama...
. Hasegawa was originally scheduled to fight WBC top-ranked contender Diego Morales
Diego Morales
Diego Adán Morales is a Mexican professional boxer and the younger sibling of Erik Morales.- External links :...
. However, Morales backed out of the fight due to an injury, and the eighth-ranked contender, Geraldo Martinez, was hastily called up as a substitute. Hasegawa had been sparring with southpaws in preparation to fight Morales, who was a southpaw, but the change to Martinez meant he would now be fighting an orthodox style fighter. Hasegawa took an early lead in the fight, knocking Martinez down twice in the 2nd round (ruled as slips by the referee), and once in the 3rd round. Hasegawa put Martinez down again early in the 7th with a dazzling left straight, and the fight erupted into a massive slugfest between the two fighters. Hasegawa knocked Martinez down two more times in the same round, prompting the referee to stop the fight. Hasegawa marked his first title defense with a TKO victory. This was also the day of his wedding anniversary.
On March 25, 2006, Hasegawa returned to fight in his hometown, Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, for the first time after becoming world champion. Hasegawa's opponent for his second title defense was again Veeraphol Sahaprom, who had compiled five consecutive wins to become the top-ranked WBC contender after losing his title to Hasegawa a year ago. It was rumored that Sahaprom had not been in top condition when he lost to Hasegawa, and many speculated that Sahaprom had not fought to the best of his ability in the previous fight. Both fighters started off slowly, but Hasegawa's shots gradually began to land on Sahaprom, and almost knocked out Sahaprom with a powerful left uppercut in the 6th. Sahaprom fought back in the 7th and 8th rounds, landing body shots, but Hasegawa landed a stunning right hook only ten seconds into the 9th round to knock out Sahaprom.
The third title defense took place on November 13, 2006, at Nippon Budokan
Nippon Budokan
The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in central Tokyo, Japan.This is the location where many "Live at the Budokan" albums were recorded...
, where Hasegawa first won the title. The challenger was Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
fighter Genaro Garcia, ranked 1st in the WBC. Hasegawa knocked Garcia down with a left uppercut in the 4th round, but Garcia showed surprising resilience, landing powerful body shots in the middle rounds. Hasegawa suffered a light cut in the 7th round, which was worsened by a head-butt from Garcia in the 8th. Hasegawa managed to knock down Garcia again in the 8th, though his own face was covered with blood, and his eye was practically sealed shut from the cut. Hasegawa showed able defensive skills to ride out the 12th round, and won with a unanimous 3-0 decision. After the fight, Hasegawa was visited by WBC Super Flyweight Champion Masamori Tokuyama
Masamori Tokuyama
is a retired professional boxer in the super flyweight division. His professional record was 32-3-1 . He is a former WBC world super flyweight champion....
, who gave Hasegawa a hand-written letter challenging him for his bantamweight title. If the fight with Tokuyama had taken place, it would have been a huge match-up between two Japan-based world champions, but Hasegawa declined the offer, wanting to fight non-Japanese challengers instead. Tokuyama retired shortly afterwards.
Hasegawa fought undefeated challenger Simpiwe Vetyeka of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
on May 3, 2007, for the fourth defense of his title. Very little was known about the challenger, Vetyeka, except that he had an undefeated record (16-0-0), and had defended the South African bantamweight title five times, winning four of those fights by knockout. He was also said to have compiled an exceptional career in the amateur ring. The fight itself was rather anticlimactic, as there had been huge excitement about the May 3 card, which featured two other world title matchups. Both Hasegawa and Vetyeka wanted to land counter punches, leading to a great deal of inactivity from both sides. Neither fighter seemed willing to expose themselves, and few hard punches were thrown in the early rounds of the fight. The open scoring system was used in the fight, and Hasegawa was leading in the judges' scorecards going into the later rounds, but Vetyeka continued to lay back and wait for Hasegawa to attack. Hasegawa finally stepped up to decisively win the final two rounds, and won his fourth defense with a unanimous decision. There was some frustration after the fight, because both Hasegawa and Vetyeka complained that one of the advertisements in the middle of the ring was causing their feet to slip. This was the first world title defense where Hasegawa was unable to knock down his opponent in the fight.
Hasegawa defended his title for the fifth time on January 10, 2008 with a 12-round unanimous decision victory against top-ranked WBC contender Simone Maludrottu
Simone Maludrottu
Simone Maludrottu is a professional boxer from Olbia, Sardinia, Italy. Maludrottu fights in the Bantamweight division and in the current European title holder.-Debut:...
. Hasegawa had transferred to the newly established Shinsei Boxing Gym in Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
along with its founder and his trainer, Masato Yamashita, during the 8 month layoff since his last defense. Despite suffering a cut above his right eye early in the fight, Hasegawa dominated the fight to win by unanimous decision. This made him the first Japanese boxer to have defended a bantamweight world title over four times.
He defended it again for the sixth time, defeating Venezuela's Cristian Faccio with a 2nd round TKO on June 12, 2008.
Hasegawa fought on October 16th, 2008 where he defended his title for the 7th time by taking on Mexican prospect Alejandro Valdez. Hasegawa won the fight by technical knockout in the second round.
His 8th title defense was a lot more impressive as he stopped Vusi Malinga in a single round on March 12, 2009.
He defended it again for the 9th time, defeating USA's Nestor Rocha with a 1st round TKO on July 14, 2009.
He defended his title for the tenth time by knocking out Alvaro Perez on December 12, 2009.
Title run comes to an end
On April 30, 2010, Hasegawa challenged WBO 118-pound champion Fernando MontielFernando Montiel
Fernando Montiel Martínez is a Mexican professional boxer in the Bantamweight division. Fernando is a former WBO Flyweight, WBO Super Flyweight and WBO and WBC Bantamweight champion.-Early life:...
of Mexico. Although Montiel holds a title in the same division, it wasn't on the line because of JBC policy. At the bout, Hasegawa won the first 3 rounds, frustrating the Mexican visitor. In the 4th round Montiel managed to land an attack on Hasegawa, leaving the hometown fighter vulnerable for more blows. The referee declared stoppage and this was Hasegawa's first knockout loss. Aside of losing the match and the title, Hasegawa also suffered a shattered jaw. The injury was caused not by Montiel's barrage of attacks in the 4th round but by an impact Hasegawa took in the 1st.
Move to featherweight
Following the bout with Montiel, Hasegawa went up two weight divisions and fight Juan Carlos Burgos for the vacant WBC featherweight crown on November 26, 2010 and won the WBC Featherweight Championship.Hasegawa was nominated as return of the year for the Best of 2010 awards by WBC, but was granted the most dramatic fight of the year for the match against Fernando Montiel, after all.