Just moments ago Chinese fans had the chance to see a WBA Super Bantamweight title fight, that ended with a 3rd round KO win for defending champion Nehomar Cermeno (25-5-1-1, 15) as he stopped previously unbeaten Thai Nop Kratingdaenggym (17-1, 5) [ณพ ฐิติพงศกร] and continued his career run in China, where he is now 2-0 (2).
Cermeno had won the title earlier this year in China, when he stopped Qiu Xiao Jun in the 12th round, to put his career back on the map after a period in the proverbial boxing wilderness. Although the bout had been a bit of an upset, especially given that Cermeno had been inactive and was much older than Jun, he was favoured to retain his title here against Nop who was stepping up massively in class. That step up was unfortunately too much for the Thai. Nop started the fight fine and actually seemed to be giving Cermeno some, albeit limited, problems with his speed and energy. The first round was relatively even and so to was the second with Nop giving a solid account of himself in the early stages. Although Nop wasn't looking out classed it did seem like he was putting more into things than Cermeno who looked like he was happy to cruise in first gear and see what the Thai had in his arsenal. In round 3 Cermeno began to up the ante and when he did that Nop seemed unable to cope, almost freezing after being tagged. A combination from the Venezuelan veteran dropped the Thai who failed to recover and looked in agony in his corner some facial swelling. With the win Cermeno opens up doors to either continue in Asia, possibly fighting in China again next year, or could potentially look to get big fights in the west, maybe even finishing a trilogy with Anselmo Moreno, who has stated he is moving to 122lbs. There are options out there for Cermeno, but his low reward status may make him a champion that some would rather avoid. For Nop he took an opportunity to fight for a world title and came up short, the suggestion is that he wouldn't ever win a world title and he'd have been stupid turn this opportunity down. Sadly though it's hard to imagine him developing enough to ever be able to compete properly at this level and he will likely drop back down to PABA level and notch up a long winning run before getting another shot by a champion looking for an easy defense.
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We often write fighters off and try to send them to the retirement home. Sometimes it really is for their own health, after all what is Roy Jones Jr still doing in the ring? Sometimes however they really do still have it, despite what we all believe. That was shown earlier today when Japanese veteran, and general boxing legend, Hozumi Hasegawa (35-6, 16) [長谷川 穂積] shocked the boxing world to become a 3-weight world champion. The 35 year old former Bantamweight and Featherweight champion had been written off by all, including ourselves, but put in a thrilling performance to force a stoppage of heavy handed Mexican Hugo Ruiz (36-4, 32). Hasegawa's skills were on show early and he seemed to take the opening round, though had been deducted a point under the WBC rules for a headclash and the effort he put in essentially got him a 9-9 round before Ruiz upped his pace and we began to see the Mexican try to make the most of his power and size advantage. Despite being younger Ruiz was slower and his punches seemed to be read well by Hasegawa who continued to look the faster and smart fighter. Despite being faster there was always a risk that he would be tagged and hurt. Through 4 rounds the fight was close. The Japanese fans, who were able to watch the bout on Sky Perfect 1, seemed to feel their man was doing just enough to have a lead going into the first round of open scoring though the judges didn't agree, having Ruiz in the lead on a split decision after 4 rounds. With the cards reading 38-37 Hasegawa and 38-37 and 39-36 Ruiz Knowing he was behind Hasegawa changed the tempo and pace of the bout, upping the ante and taking the bout more to Ruiz. Whilst it seemed like a foolish tactic, walking into the firepower of Ruiz, he actually managed to stifle the Mexican who was struggling. Ruiz's struggles were worsened slightly when he cut Hasegawa over the left eyelid, originally ruled a punch though came from a headbutt as seen on replay with the WBC rules then costing Ruiz a point. Despite the cut Hasegawa wasn't going to be denied and continued to take the fight to Ruiz who looked to have no answer for the southpaw left hand of Hasegawa. After 8 rounds the judges had flipped their view on the bout with one having Hasegawa up 78-72, another having it 76-74 to the Japanese fighter whilst the dissenting judge had Ruiz up 76-74. In round 9 Hasegawa took a big hook but saw it off and fired back at Ruiz who looked like he was going all in for the round. By the end of the round Ruiz was done and knew it with his team keeping him in the corner following the round. Ruiz reign, which began earlier this year with an opening round win over Julio Ceja was ended in his first defense. It was a disappointing reign in many ways but we doubt many would complain about seeing him again. The story however is all about the 35 year old Hasegawa who has finally become a 3-weight world champion, achieving one of his boxing dreams. Whether he continues to fight on and defend the title is yet to be seen but what is clear is that this win is one of his most memorable and will help define a career as modern Japanese legend. The HOF in Canastota may be a big ask, but his his effect on Japanese boxing has been huge and he really deserves to tell every one off for writing him off. To quote the brilliant boxmob - "長谷川!ありがと", "Hasegawa, thank you" (Image courtesy of daily.co.jp) Every so often boxing has a show of pure courage, heart and guts and we all love it when we see it. The pure real life Rocky moments that sees a fighter pulling off the win through adversity. Sometimes however the story doesn't end that we and today we saw such a story as Japan's Shingo Wake (20-5-2, 12) [和氣 慎吾] gave his all whilst coming up short against Dominican monster Jonathan Guzman (22-0-0-1, 22) in an excellent bout. The fight started quietly but it wasn't long until Guzman's much vaunted power started to show it's self with the Dominican scoring two knockdowns in round 2 leaving Wake's right eye a total mess with a monstrous cut under it. It seems like Wake wasn't going to last much longer and he was down again in round 3, albeit from a push that was scored as a knockdown, with many suspecting Wake's team would pull him out of the bout before he got injured worse. Wake however was allowed to continue and gave a brave effort in round 4 before being dropped, hard, in round 5. He was then dropped again several seconds after the bell to end the round from a monstrously huge shot, in a move that really seemed fitting for a point deduction that never came. Looking like a spent fighter at the start of round 6 it would have made sense again for Wake's team to have pulled their fighter from the bout. Instead they sent him out and he seemed to come out with a spring in his step and looking like a hungry fighter. He backed up Guzman and landed several hurtful looking left hands that made it look like he was coming on strong whilst Guzman's work rate began to drop noticeably. The momentum from round 7 continued in to rounds 8, 9 and 10 with Wake having more and more success, and in fairness he should have had at least one knock-down call in his favour, especially given that he had been pushed for one of the knockdowns earlier in the fight. Unfortunately for Wake his momentum was stopped in round 11 when he exchanged with Guzman and was left with a nasty cut over the left eye that bled straight into the eye and forced the referee to instantly stop the bout, giving Guzman the stoppage win. What happened between round 5 and 11 however was amazing. Wake had come from the brink of a very early defeat to give Guzman a genuine test, both men left with with an eye swollen shut, for Guzman it was the left for Wake the right, and both men will be out of the ring for a prolonged time whilst those injuries heal. Unfortunately for Wake it was the left eye being cut, and not the huge gash on his right cheek or the swelling around the right, that forced the referees hand, and it was a very nasty cut, in fact both were. With the win Guzman won the IBF Super Bantamweight title and announced himself as a genuine world class fighter, For a badly swollen Wake the result is a bad one, however the courage he showed and the way he fought himself back into the fight will have won him fans around the world and will likely see him being given another shot in the near future. The performance from both was brilliant and if you missed the fight you really need to find it as it was an amazing contest of guts, power and heart. A tremendous contest. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) Over the last decade or so Chinese boxing has been growing, markedly, with a number of Chinese fighters getting attention in the West including the gigantic Taishan Dong, the heavy handed Zhang Junlong and former amateur star Zou Shiming. We have also seen a number of Chinese fighters fight for world titles including the aforementioned Shiming and Ik Yang.
Today we saw another Chinese fighter fighting for a world title, Super Bantamweight Qiu Xiao Jun (20-3, 9), who was regarded by those in China as potentially their best hope for a world title in the coming years. Jun was hoping to become the second Chinese man to become a world champion as he took on Panamanian based Venezuelan veteran Nehomar Cermeno (24-5-1, 14) for the vacant WBA Super Bantamweight title. On paper Jun had most the advantages. He was fighting at home in China, he was 11 years younger than Cermeno and the rising star of Chinese boxing. Sadly for Jun the advantages didn't really help him as the Chinese slugger was made to look rudimentary through out, with Cermeno, the more polished fighter, picking him off with counters through out. The bout started slowly but by round 2 it was clear that Cermeno was the much more skilled man and the man who looked in control, scoring a flash knockdown in the second. From then on Jun seemed to really struggle to get into a rhythm or find his range with shots regularly falling wide or going over Cermeno's head whilst Cermeno, the more conservative fighter, was landing counters at will. In the middle rounds Jun tried to turn the bout around by picking up the pace and forcing Cermeno to work more,that plan however made life easier for Cermeno who found more openings and landed more and more frequently whilst Jun struggled to have any notable success. Despite the bout being one sided for the most part it did seem like we were on route to a decision, that was until round 12 when Cermeno seemed to stagger a tired looking Jun who failed to respond. A follow up forced the referee to stop the Chinese warrior, who was looking completely spent, despite not going down. The skill level between the two was huge and although Jun did give it a go he was never really in the fight. Sadly for Chinese boxing this loss comes on the back of other high profile losses for Chinese fighters, including Zou Shiming's loss to Amnat Ruenroeng, Ik Yang's loss to Cesar Rene Cuenca and Xiong Zhao Zhong's recent loss to Jose Antonio Jimenez. The bad run for Chinese boxing will continue here, but it does seem like the country is on the verge of a boxing revolution. Whether that takes 10, 15 or 20 years it will happen given the growth in the sport. Sadly for Jun it's back to the drawing board. Every so often we get world title challengers who really don't deserve to be ranked, with little qualifications for a world title bout and really no chance against any world class fighters. That was seen today when WBO Super Bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (37-3, 24) gave a harsh reality lesson to the woefully inadequate Hungarian challenger Zsolt Bedak (25-2, 8).
The opening round was relatively competitive with Donaire spending much of the round easing himself into the contest whilst a tense Bedak looked like a fighter who was stepping up and trying to make sure that he wasn't over-awed too soon. Sadly for the challenger the round was the only one where he looked even close to being competitive. In round 2 Donaire moved through the gears with a left hook shaking up the Hungarian who was dropped in a follow up attack from the Filipino. Bedak got to his feet, and was somewhat lucky that Donaire was looking for a 1-punch KO as it gave him time to recover some senses, though the Hungarian was tagged several times before being dropped again from a counter shot at the end of the round. That secured Donaire a 10-7 record but seemed to show that the bout really was a massive mismatch of ability, speed and power, with Bedak too slow, too limited and too feather fisted to have any kind of a chance. With Bedak already in a hole, and having been dropped twice, it seemed like the bout was a case of "when" not "if" the challenger world get stopped. That ending was in round 3 when Donaires speed and power again took it's toll on Bedak with a series of shots that resulted in Bedak going down for the third time in the bout. The Hungarian did his best to get to his feet, but the bloodied fighter couldn't convince the referee that he was fit to continue. With the win Donaire records the first defense of his current as a world champion, sadly the bout was a huge mismatch but it was a home coming for the exciting Filipino who hasn't fought in a world title bout in the Philippines in 7 years, with his last world title bout their being a 4th round TKO win over Raul Martinez. Hopefully his next bout will be a more notable one. When it comes to Bedak, the WBO have to explain what they thought qualified him for a world title fight, especially against a genuinely top fighter like Donaire. Every so often we get a fight that isn't expected to anything special, in fact the bout may well be derided as a mismatch, but turns out to be an amazing fight that takes on a life of it's own and leaves fans wanting more. This past Friday we had one such fight as Nonito Donaire (36-3, 23) and Cesar Juarez (17-4, 13) put on something very special for the WBO Super Bantamweight title.
The bout was supposed to be a mismatch, in fact some bookies in the UK had Donaire at almost unbackable odds. Despite the feeling of a mismatch the fight actually ended up being very competitive, thrilling and a bout that really told a story that showed what makes boxing such a special sport. The bout began like many expected. Donaire was simply too good, too smart, too fast, too accurate and seemingly had too much of everything. The first round saw the landing a monstrous right hand to effectively welcome Juarez into the fight and followed it up with a number of massive right hands up top and left hooks to the body. It looked like the story of the fight was going to be a very short one and it seemed like Juarez simply had no idea what to do with Donaire. Rounds 2 and 3 were much like the opening round. They were all Donaire with the Filipino seemingly in total control, he couldn't miss and it seemed like Juarez was certain to be stopped. The much vaunted power of Donaire was connecting time and time again, and the shots were clean every time. The only real variance came in the final 30 seconds of round 3, when Juarez finally managed to have some success of his own, albeit only limited success. Having clearly taken the first 3 rounds Donaire seemed to grow and in round 4 he continued to land right hands. The success of Donaire's clean shots seemed to stagger Juarez who went down as the fighters seemed to tangle feet. It was ruled a knockdown, but was a controversial call. It seemed however that it was going to be incident and not long afterwards Juarez was down again, a legitimate and painful looking knockdown. The second knockdown seemed to hurt Juarez who came out fighting, as if he was wanting to go down swinging rather than just take a loss. The opportunities that Juarez gave allowed Donaire to land further bombs but the Mexican saw off the storm and seemed to win a mini battle with himself. It was a 10-7 round but it was a round that had plenty of positives for Juarez, who had proven just how tough he was. In round 5 Donaire looked for the kill, he again landed some bombs but they didn't have they effect they had had earlier in the fight. Instead they seemed to spur on Juarez who, near the end of the round, cornered Donaire and got off with some serious offensive work with the Filipino on the ropes. It was a sign that Juarez was there to fight, and wasn't merely there to make up the numbers. He had gone through hell early on and was now ready to pay it back. The payback from Juarez continued in round 6 as Donaire began the round on his toes, moving but not punching, hit output dropped off completely whilst Juarez moved through the gears and began to cut the ring off, forcing Donaire on to the ropes. It wasn't a clear and decisive round, but it was a notable round, with Donaire slipping late and seemingly injuring his ankle. His corner went to work on it, and did seem like it was going to be dramatic, though it never seemed to clearly effect the fight following the slip. With Donaire clearly slowing in terms of his output Juarez began to turn it on and round 7 was a massive round for Juarez who regularly pinned Donaire against the ropes and unloaded with flurry after flurry. In the first 90 seconds the action was all Juarez with the Mexican really forcing the issue whilst the second half of the round saw Donaire having some success, but not enough with Juarez continuing to out work him. Juarez continued to build on his success and in round 8 he continued to press the action. He was forced to eat some counters, some huge counters, but on the whole it was the work of the Mexican that left a lasting impression. The aggressive work of Juarez seemed to be helping him claw his way back into the fight and seemed to really be taking it's toll on Donaire who marking up and being forced to fight Juarez's fight. Despite the complexion of the fight changing it seemed as though Juarez had too much ground to make up, though he wasn't going to just give up. Rounds 9 and 10 continued in much the same vein, with Juarez forcing the action with an insane work rate and intense pressure. He had mixed success, but in both rounds he managed to get Donaire on the ropes and unload with the Filipino becoming more and more ragged by the round. So ragged was Donaire that it seemed he was knocked down in round 10, though the referee called it a slip. Despite becoming ragged Donaire was landing his right hand counter at will, though it had no effect at all on the Mexican who seemed to just reset himself and come right back at the Filipino star, who must have wondered what it would take to stop his 24 year old foe. Although rounds 9 and 10 were Juarez's rounds he was still going to need several KD's, if not a KO, to win and he seemed to know it as he came our fast in round 11. That lead to a number of brilliant exchanges with Juarez forcing Donaire to the ropes and Donaire firing back in a flurries of shots, as the two traded, standing toe to toe. The action was dictated, again, by Juarez but Donaire was being forced to hold his own. The round was brilliant and both men deserve credit for their efforts, though the round will quickly be forgotten The reason round 11 will be forgotten is because the two then gave us a round of the year contender, in fact they may well have given us the best round of the year. Juarez came out fast and immediately had Donaire on the ropes and began unloading his shots. Donaire eventually got some space and freedom but his respite was short as Juarez charged back in, almost immediate. The assault from Juarez continued until thee was about a minute left. It seemed like Donaire was running on fumes, and then suddenly Donaire fired back stopping Juarez in his tracks. The Mexican regrouped and was tagged again before the two traded solid shots to the bell. It was breath taking, jaw dropping and and all action. By the final bell it seemed like the early success of Donaire was easy to forget. He had been dragged through hell for the final 6 rounds of the fight. The work of Juarez, whilst not the cleanest, was eye catching, and it seemed that overall Juarez had certainly done enough to make the cards at least close. Sadly the effort wasn't really shown on the cards which were 116-110, twice and 117-109, all in favour of Donaire, who reclaimed the WBO Super Bantamweight title. Whilst the Filipino got the win, we dare say it's come at a cost and it's unlikely that he'll be the same fighter, in fact the punishment taken here will have aged Donaire significantly and the 33 year old may have just used his “final” good performance in what was a very tough, exciting and brilliant fight. Hisashi Amagasa puts in a brave effort but comes up painfully short against the Cuban Jackal12/31/2014 The final bout of 2014 took place in Osaka a few hours ago when Cuban sensation Guillermo Rigondeaux (15-0, 10) successfully defended his WBO and WBA "super" Super Bantamweight titles in what may go down as being one of his most memorable, exciting and interesting bouts. In fact it was a bout that may have seen Rigondeaux retain his titles but suddenly look beatable, fallible and flawed with serious question marks arising about his durability.
The bout was a supposed mismatch as the talented Cuban battled against unheralded Japanese fighter Hisashi Amagasa (28-5-2, 19). Rigondeaux was a 1/100 favourite. On paper it was a show case bout for the Cuban against an opponent who was bigger than him but open, an opponent that really was expected to be made for him to counter, break up and use as a human punch bag. Instead what we ended up with was an entertaining, though relatively 1-sided, affair that had drama in the middle of it and really grotesque and nasty damage done to the challenger. Early on Amagasa looked hungry and he effectively ran over to Rigondeaux, swung his shots and fought as if he felt he would need to stop Rigondeaux early to have any chance. It was an entertaining start by the challenger, who seemed to have more intent than the last 2 challengers of Rigondeaux's. Sadly for Amagasa it wasn't long before Rigondeaux turned the tables and started making the challenger look clumsy whilst picking him off with his speed and accuracy. The way the Cuban turned the bout around was beautiful in some ways though unfortunately he managed to take what was beautiful and make it dull as he began circling around the ring and using his feet to avoid a fight whilst continuing to pick the Japanese fighter. Whilst Rigondeaux was too fast his style was frustrating to watch, thankfully Amagasa did occasionally get into range and have success. those moments were few and far between but made it obvious that the challenger wasn't just there to be a showcase foe, he was there to win. Late in round 7 we had a huge momentum shift as Rigondeaux was caught by a counter right hand from the Japanese fighter and dropped. It was a shock considering how much Amagasa had struggled to land anything clean and it seemed to even shock Amagasa who ran over to the corner to celebrate, unfortunately however Rigondeaux was quickly back to his feet. A follow up attack saw Rigondeaux being bundled down and the referee ruling it a knockdown, Rigondeaux was still groggy but it was far from a legitimate knockdown, it did however result in a 10-7 round. Amagasa trying to build on his success in round 8 but sadly Rigondeaux managed to recover his sense and by the end of the round the Cuban was back in charge. In round 9 Rigondeaux further reestablished himself as he scored a knockdown of his own and from then on it seemed he was in complete control whilst Amagasa's face began to swell quickly, breaking up after every puncher of Rigondeaux's. Sadly the swelling become more and more grotesque and by the end of round 11 he looked like a extra from a horror movie with what appeared to be a broken cheekbone, a broken jaw and a broken orbital bone. Rightfully he stayed in the corner and accepted defeat rather than have his already broken face further damaged. We hope we get to see Amagasa back in the ring next year, but the damage done here may well leave him on the shelf for a very long time and even if he returns the chances are he will never be the same. He can take heart from his effort, which was great, but that effort almost certainly cost him long term. Despite the loss we want to thank Amagasa for putting up an amazing effort full of courage even in the most serious of adversity, we're sure he made some new fans with this performance. In 2013 Nihito Arakawa made a name for himself on the international stage when he went to war with Omar Figueroa. Prior to that fight Arakawa was hardly known outside of Japan though he left that fight as a man known for his insane toughness and heart. In 2014 it seems another Japanese fighter has done the same, as Hidenori Otake (22-2-3, 9) proved his toughness on route to a clear loss to Britain's Scott Quigg (30-0-2, 22) in a WBA Super Bantamweight title fight.
From the opening round it seemed clear that the two men were on different levels with Quigg showing a better variety of shots, more power and better technique than Otake. What Otake showed however was no sense of fear or intimidation and even when Quigg landed his trademark left hook to the body Otake seemed to shrug it off and come forward with tireless effort. Unfortunately for Otake his skills weren't able to make his toughness or work rate and all too often he found his shots hitting air or the arms of Quigg who showed great defense and movement. The first 4 rounds or so were dominated by the fast action of both men as they stood in front of each other and let their hands go without thinking too much about boxing. It was a high octane all action start to the fight though a start that was clearly a better one from Quigg, despite the fact Otake was often the man bringing the action. In the middle of the contest the action changed somewhat. We we from the toe-to-toe action to seeing Quigg get on his toes and box a bit. This saw the champion really easing his way through the middle rounds and showing his extra class as Otake hit the air and took hard counters in return for his misses. It was again showing off Otake's toughness and work rate though certainly showed his technical limitations as he chased Quigg rather than cut the ring off. At the end of round 9 Otake's eye was beginning to show signs of damage, the result of the clean shots to the head that he was being forced to take. In the following round the cut was worsened by a slicing uppercut from Quigg that left Otake with a cut above his right eye. The cut seemed to give the doctors a reason to stop the bout though they rightfully allowed it to continue noting the cut wasn't a fight ending one, especially not in a world title contest. Whilst the cut could have discouraged the Japanese warrior it actually seemed to just drive him on more than ever and he upped his work rate attempting to try and break Quigg down. Sadly Otake was unable to really land too many clean shots on the Brit but he did manage to force the unbeaten champion to work extremely hard in what were some very exciting championship rounds. At the end of the contest there was no doubting the winner. Quigg had taken everything Otake had and came back with interest landing the better, sharper and more eye catching shots and was a worthy winner with cards that read 118-110 and 119-109, twice,, however Otake had impressed and given a fantastic account of himself in his first bout on foreign soil. It's fair to suggest that this was Otake's one big chance at a world title and although he came up short we do hope that fans from the UK will remember the gutsy warrior from Tokyo who we suspect will, sadly, fade back into relative obscurity on the Japanese domestic scene. Sometimes the most significant fight on a show isn't actually the "main event" and that was the case today in Macau as Zou Shiming headlined the card with his fight against Luis Dela Rosa whilst the most significant bout was the Super Bantamweight title fight between Cuban sensation Guillermo Rigondeaux (14-0, 9) and Thailand's Sod Kokietgym (63-3-1, 28). The bout, widely viewed as a mismatch of giant proportions, went the way many expected with Rigondeaux retaining his title though there was certainly an air of controversy surrounding the ending of the contest. After 80 seconds of the fight starting there was a major headclash which saw Sod dropping to the canvas hard. It was a clear headclash and a hard one even though Sod wasn't left bloodied he was certainly groggy. Sadly the referee failed to give Sod reasonable time to recover from the accidental foul. Moments after being told to continue Sod went to touch gloves though was caught by a hard left that sent him down hard. He was up at 9 though still groggy, a combination of both the stunning left hand and the head clash, and the referee waved off the bout immediately much to the anger of Sod who felt he had been sucker punched. Whilst few will make a fuss about the ending, and in fact many will suggest that Sod should have "defended himself at all times", it still won't have done Rigondeaux any favours despite the result being very impressive. It was, as we suggested, a lose-lose situation for Rigondeaux especially if you, like Sod, feel Rigondeaux delivered a sucker punch. Whilst some fans will have loved the "nasty side" of Rigondeaux others will have questioned the need for the shot that finished off Sod. Some will certainly suggest that Rigondeaux deprived us of a fight, though it was a fight that many didn't want to see anyway and we dare say some people just want to complain. (Image courtesy of Top Rank) Earlier today saw Japanese great Hozumi Hasegawa (33-5, 15) attempt to become the second 3-weight world champion in Japanese history. Unfortunately the 33 year old southpaw came up short as he fought the bull like Kiko Martinez (31-5, 23) who sadly stopped Hasegawa in 7 rounds to retain his IBF Super Bantamweight title. The fight started competitively with a good opening round for the Japanese challenger. Unfortunately the round ended with the two men trading and it seemed like that was always going to be a problem against the hard headed Martinez who appeared tougher and stronger than Hasegawa. In the second round the power of Martinez was on show as he rocked, then dropped Hasegawa. Hasegawa showed off his heart and determination by getting back up but went straight back to trading with Martinez who appeared to be going through the gears. The fact the champion had dropped Hasegawa should have said it all, this guys hits hard, instead it seemed like Hasegawa was determined to go out on his shield. Thankfully over the following few rounds Hasegawa did start to use his skills a bit, despite suffering a nasty cut in round 4 over his right eye. The cut seemed to spur Hasegawa into using his brain and in round 5 he got on to his toes and began to box on the back foot forcing Martinez to fall short with his shots before firing back. It was a glimpse of Hasegawa at his best, he looked, for one round, like the man we all know and loved a fearsome, counter punching machine who could make world class opponents look second rate. Sadly at 33 Hasegawa was only able to muster up one round of that old magic. In round 6 it seemed clear the magic had worn off as Martinez went to work and although the champion was deducted a point he was clearly on top as his pressure began to force Hasegawa back in to trading. The shots Martinez was landing were taking a clear toll on Hasegawa who was losing his sharpness and his footwork was beginning to get very sloppy as tried to escape the onslaught from the Spaniard. By the start of round 7 Hasegawa still didn't look himself and Martinez continued to just walk Hasegawa down, this saw Hasegawa again forced into an exchange before he was dropped for the second time in the fight. The brave Japanese fighter managed to regain his feet but bot his senses and a follow up attack saw Martinez send him down for the third time. This time the referee decided to save Hasegawa from himself and immediately waved the bout off. After the fight the two men embraced in respect though the shocked and saddened audience seemed to know that this was it, the end of Hasegawa who will almost certainly retire now rather than take any more damage. Thankfully Hasegawa walked out of the arena under his own steam and the sadness that was on the fans faces turned to respect as they clapped him back to the changing rooms where he will consider his future. Hasegawa, if he does retire as expected, has plenty of options though working in TV would seem the most likely following in the footsteps of Toshiaki Nishioka. Like Nishioka, Hasegawa has given us all a lot of nights to remember and although this was a sad night he still gave us something to remember him by with the fantastic action in round 2, the skills in round 5 and the heart in round 7. (Image courtesy of Boxmob.jp) |
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