April 16, 2005
April 16, 2005
TOKYO, JAPAN-Southpaw speedster Hozumi Hasegawa (18-2, 5 KOs), 118, Japan, impressively captured the WBC bantam throne as he gamely mixed it up with longtime champ Veeraphol Nakhonluang-Promotion (47-2-2, 33 KOs) (right photo), 118, from the outset, withstood the 36-year-old Thailander’s persistent retaliation in middle rounds and took significant three points from the ninth, winning a unanimous decision over twelve heats on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. The official tallies were as follows: Duane Ford (US) 116-112, Gale Van Hoy (US) and Burt Clements (US) both 115-113, all for the more aggressive challenger. The referee was Guadalupe Garcia (Mexico).
Veeraphol’s long reign since 1998 was over, and his winning streak in 45 bouts (including a couple of draws with Toshiaki Nishioka) stopped in this bout. Hasegawa’s youth, speed and big heart accounted for the upset result. Veeraphol, making his fifteenth defense, attempted to overcome early deficits on points by aiming at the breadbasket of the Japanese speedster, and all the judges tallied 76-76 after the eighth session. But Hasegawa, twelve years his junior at 24, displayed his fighting spirit, swept the three rounds from the ninth and effectively shook up the champ with a fusillade of punches in the tenth canto. Though Veeraphol took the final round with his desperate rallies, Hasegawa was awarded a well-received decision thanks to his accumulation on points. The crowd at Nihon Budokan (Japanese Martial Arts Hall) roared in jubilation to see his coronation by defeating the Thai legend.
Hasegawa, once called a Japanese Pernell Whitaker, made a good start as he swarmed over the still cautious and nervous champ with sharp combinations in the first round. The Japanese southpaw was in command in the second and third sessions, outpunching the defensive champ by making good use of his superior hand speed and effective lateral movement. Veeraphol, who had wrested the WBC belt by a sixth round KO of Japanese legend Joichiro Tatsuyoshi in 1998, started his engine and took the fourth by a slight margin. The fourth saw the champ’s legal shot open a cut over the challenger’s left eyebrow, which fortunately didn’t become worse in following rounds. The willing mixer Hasegawa, in round five, utilized his swift footwork to avert the champ’s attack, outjabbed him with his southpaw right hand and scored with quick combos.
Veeraphol, who hadn’t tasted any setback after his sole defeat by Nana Konadu in 1995, shifted his target to the speedster’s midsection from the sixth. His change of strategy seemed to have paid off, as the Thai veteran took three points from the sixth in succession. Hasegawa gamely fought back with his trade-mark combinations, which often missed the onrushing champ. The tide visibly turned in favor of the champ.
The Japanese lefty, in the ninth, gamely fought toe-to-toe and successfully outpunched the formidable champ with precision. Hasegawa showed his best in the tenth, when he almost toppled him with a solid looping right hook following a southpaw left and furiously attacked the fading champ with non-stop rallies. The challenger also took the eleventh due to his acceleration in battering the champ with busier combos. The final stanza was a war, since Veeraphol, aware of being behind on points, desperately attempted to score a come-from-behind knockout, while Hasegawa responded to his last surge with less powerful but still fast combinations. The champ dominated the last session, which, however, wasn’t enough to overcome his early deficits.
Hasegawa, handled by ex-Japanese middle champ Keitoku Senrima (who twice stayed in Detroit to train under Emanuel Steward), became the fifth world bantam ruler ever produced in Japan, following the footsteps of Fighting Harada, Takuya Muguruma, Joichiro Tatsuyoshi and Yasuei Yakushiji. The southpaw is still young and still improving in every fight. Should he gain more power without losing his potential speed, he may become a good champion as he is blessed with good defensive reflexes. But Hasegawa tonight turned so aggressive to win the belt by sometimes ignoring the champ’s light shots to the face that he amazed the audience as well as the champ with his remarkable work-rate. He was simply impressive. The crestfallen champ praised his conqueror and wishes to win back his belt if their rematch should take place in the near future. Veeraphol, the great ex-champ, proudly left the ring as if he was still the champion.
The promoter was Akihiko Honda’s Teiken Promotions. The WBC supervisor was Juan Sanchez from Miami, FL.
(4-16-05)