December 11 2015
KOBE, JAPAN
Formerly two-time world champ, Japanese southpaw Hozumi Hasegawa (35-5, 15 KOs), 127, came off the canvas twice and fought back very hard to earn a close but unanimous decision (96-93, 95-93, 95-94) over fast-punching Mexican, WBO#5 super-feather Carlos Ruiz (14-2, 5 KOs), 126, over ten hard-fought give-and-take rounds on Friday in Kobe, Japan. Winning the first two sessions with ease, Hasegawa might feel it wouldn’t be a tough night, but the fact wasn’t what he felt out. The closing seconds of the third witnessed Ruiz explode a smashing right to the button of the Japanese speedster, who badly hit the deck and resumed fighting to be fortunately saved by the bell. Though Hasegawa dominated the fourth, he went back to the canvas with a same straight right to the chin in the fifth. But Hasegawa fought back hard to win round after round from the sixth, utilizing his hand speed, shifty mobility and counterpunching. Ruiz, an intelligent student of Mexican Institute of Technology (Mexican MIT), occasionally attempted to score the same right to the puzzling lefty for the third time, but Hasegawa displayed his experience of having kept his WBC bantam belt ten times and having acquired the WBC feather throne in showing a last surge with a flurry of punches in the final session. Hasegawa said, “I took just a couple of punches from Ruiz, but they made me hit the canvas twice. Except that, I completely controlled the fight.” Ruiz said, “I admit it’s a close fight, but I thought I won. Though he threw more combinations, I blocked them to nullify his busy punches.”
In a semi-windup, ex-WBA titlist Etsuko Tada (15-2-2, 4 KOs), 105, acquired the vacant IBF female mini-flyweight belt by defeating Mexican Karely Lopez (8-6-3, 2 KOs), 105, by a unanimous verdict (97-93, 96-94 twice) over well-contested ten. Tada almost toppled Lopez with a southpaw left in the first round, but the Mexican remarkably showed her heart to fight back with solid right hooks. Tada, a veteran footworker, changed her strategy and made good use of speed and foot, dominating the second half. It’s a competitive contest.
Promoter: Shinsei Promotions.
(12-11-2015)