By Mark Vester

With two weeks until the fight, WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel (40-2-2, 30 KOs) is preparing to leave Mexico. He takes a flight this weeked to Japan to finish up his camp for the unification with WBC champion Hozumi Hasegawa (28-2, 12 KOs) on April 30 in Tokyo. TV Azteca will televise the fight the following day on May 1, packaged with a card from Mexico topped by Omar Chavez vs. Jose Arelis Lopez.

"I'm looking forward to the fight with Hasegawa and I'm motivated. It won't be an easy task, but we're well prepared. We do not want all of the training to have been done in vain. Hasegawa is a dangerous boxer with a good left, but I'm made for this type of fights," said Montiel.

Montiel has no fears about fighting Hasegawa on Japanese soil. He fought in Germany and the Philippines and says Japan is a far less hostile enviorment to visiting fighters.

"The Japanese people are very respectful. They support their fighter, but not like in the Philippines where there is a more hostile environment for the opponents. I was there [in Japan] for a fight with Hugo Cazares and they treated us very well," Montiel said.

"For this fight the preparation has been very strong as I want to be crowned the champion of the WBC, and later I want to get a fourth world title at super bantamweight."

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