Hozumi Hasegawa

Hozumi Hasegawa, born in Nishiwaki, Hyogo, Japan, on December 16, 1980, is a retired professional boxer with a career spanning over 16 years. In this time, Hasegawa fought in 41 bouts and won 36 matches. With this record, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers in Japan's history.

At 18 years old, Hasegawa made his professional debut on November 22, 1999, against Shuichi Kuroiwa. Hasegawa defeated him via a 4 round unanimous decision, starting his incredible boxing journey.

Throughout his professional career, Hasegawa fought across three different weight classes, including Bantamweight, Super-bantamweight, and Featherweight, with a height of 5'6" and a reach of 67+1⁄2. Hasegawa's stance was Southpaw.

One of the highlights of his boxing journey was winning world titles at three weight classes, including the WBC bantamweight title from 2005 to 2010, the WBC featherweight title from 2010 to 2011, and the WBC super-bantamweight title in 2016. Hasegawa also won a total of 16 knockout fights and had a record of three losses via knockout.

His professional boxing career witnessed several significant achievements, including eight knockout wins in title fights, ten title defenses, and three world titles.

Beginnings and Early Achievements

Hasegawa's amateur career plays a vital role in his success in the professional boxing career. His talents and abilities to compete at the highest level became evident early on in his amateur career.

He competed throughout Japan and gained a reputation as a top amateur boxer. In 1999, he turned pro and made his debut by fighting Shuichi Kuroiwa. Hasegawa won via a unanimous decision after 4 rounds, and his professional boxing career had officially commenced.

Hasegawa's amateur career honed his boxing skills, and soon after becoming a professional, he won the OPBF bantamweight title.

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.

World Titles Success and Career Highlights

Hasegawa's career milestones include winning world titles at three weight classes, including the WBC bantamweight title from 2005 to 2010, the WBC featherweight title from 2010 to 2011, and the WBC super-bantamweight title in 2016.

The victory over Veeraphol Sahaprom on April 16, 2005, in the bantamweight WBC title fight was his first world title, and he won via a unanimous decision with a scorecard of 118-110, 117-111, and 115-113.

In 2006, he fought long-held WBC bantamweight champion Veeraphol Sahaprom for the second time, and this time he won via a KO. The third title defense took place on November 13, 2006, at Nippon Budokan, where Hasegawa won a unanimous decision against Mexican fighter Genaro Garcia, the 1st ranked WBC fighter.

Throughout his career, Hasegawa successfully defended his title ten times, and he marked his first title defense with a TKO victory against Geraldo Martinez on September 25, 2005. On March 25, 2006, he fought in his hometown of Kobe, Japan, and knocked out Sahaprom in the 9th round after defending the title for the second time.

Hasegawa's career highlights can be seen in his performances against several notable fighters, including Hugo Ruiz, Cristian Faccio, Alejandro Valdez, Vusi Malinga, Nestor Rocha, Alvaro Perez, and Gerardo Martinez.

Losses and Retirement

Although Hasegawa had an incredible career and a successful record, he did lose some fights in his time as a professional boxer.

In 2000, Hasegawa's professional boxing career encountered one of its setbacks when he lost against Takashi Taketazu via a 4 round unanimous decision on July 30, 2000. Taketazu was Hasegawa's first-time opponent, and it was his first loss in boxing.

After 41 fights, Hasegawa retired from professional boxing in 2016 with a record of 36-5, which included 16 knockout wins and three losses via knockout, and three world titles.

Conclusion

Hozumi Hasegawa, with his incredible talent and skill, provided boxing fans worldwide with some of the most memorable fights in boxing history. He is known to be one of the greatest boxers of all time.

He achieved several famous bouts during his career and won against some of the most elite fighters in his time. His career highlights include winning world titles at three weight classes, some of the fights being against Nestor Rocha, Alejandro Valdez, Vusi Malinga, and Gerardo Martinez, among others. Hozumi Hasegawa Fight Record