Japanese Scene: Hozumi Hasegawa vs Fernando Montiel Planned for April 30

Sidney Boquiren of RingwalkNippon has the details of the planned showdown between bantamweight stars Hozumi Hasegawa and Fernando Montiel.

A press conference was held earlier today to announce details of the planned world title double-header featuring WBC Bantamweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa and WBC Super Bantamweight titleholder Toshiaki Nishioka to be held at the Nippon Budokan on April 30.

As reported earlier in the month on The Boxing Bulletin, Hasegawa’s representatives had been in negotiations with WBO king Fernando Montiel, and the announcement confirmed that the Japanese star would indeed be facing the three-weight Mexican champion.

Yomiuri Online reports that only the green belt will be at stake, as the WBO is not recognized by the Japanese Boxing Commission (JBC). While the JBC, which only recognizes the WBC and the WBA, has provided an exemption for the fight, the agreement includes a provision that states should Hasegawa be victorious, he would only keep the WBC title, leaving the WBO championship vacant. Should Montiel win, he partially unifies the 118lb crown taking the WBC belt and retaining his current strap.

In regards to the unorthodox condition, Hasegawa stated, "I want to prove who is the stronger champion regardless of what happens to the belts." He further added, "It doesn’t matter unless I win anyway. Because my opponent is a strong challenger, I hope to knock him out."

The announcement is a pleasant surprise as the Japanese media had been quiet on the issue for the past week, and Hasegawa himself had not addressed the proposed bout in public appearances. Reports outside of Japan stated that Montiel was set to defend his title against WBO rated #1 contender Eric Morel. In addition, when news of the negotiations first came public, Japanese media citing the Mexican’s camp only mentioned promoter Fernando Beltran. Montiel and his representatives were not present at the announcement.

As the fight will not be a true unification bout, it will be interesting to see the buildup to the fight and the general public’s interest. Had the promotion been able to carry a "historical" storyline – being the first world title unification of this nature in Japan – potential ratings and earnings would likely be much higher than without. That the fight takes place at the Nippon Budokan, which seats less than 15,000, rather than a larger site such as the Saitama Super Arena (which can accommodate 20,000+), may be an indication as to the promoters’ expectations for the fight.

As a fight fan, however, this is one of the best bouts that can be made at 118. While it has been sufficient for Hasegawa to roll up defenses in maintaining his popularity at home, his recent opponents have not done much in terms of helping the Japanese stud build a similar reputation abroad. Montiel does seem to have more to gain by winning the fight (Hasegawa apparently even took a pay cut to entice the WBO beltholder to the Far East), however, a victory for the long-time WBC champion would be a huge step toward fighting outside of the country with terms that he and his representatives could dictate.

Also on the card, WBC Super Bantamweight champion Toshiaki Nishioka will attempt to make his fourth title defense against former WBC International beltholder Balweg Bangoyan. The Filipino is undefeated with a mark of 15-0 with 7KOs and is ranked #11 by the WBC.

Former WBC Featherweight titleholder Takahiro Aoh will also make an appearance, taking on trial horse Whyber Garcia (22-7, 15KO). The Panamanian has fought (and lost to) Edwin Valero, Jorge Linares, and, most recently, Yuriorkis Gamboa. Aoh will likely look for a title shot should he get by Garcia. Reports did not state whether the fight is at Featherweight or 130lbs, where Aoh fought his last bout in December.

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For more coverage of Japanese boxing, make sure to check out Sidney's blog, RingwalkNippon.