Hasegawa Stops Rocha in One Round, Retains WBC Strap

Jul 14, 2009 • 12:00 AM ET

By Mark Vester

At the World Memorial Hall in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, WBC bantamweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa (27-2, 11KOs) retained his title with a first round demolition of Nestor Rocha (21-2, 7KOs), ranked at number four by the sanctioning body. Hasegawa rocked Rocha and dropped him twice before the ref called a halt to the fight at 2:28 of the first.

It was the ninth straight defense for Hasegawa since winning the title from champion Veeraphol Nakhonluang of Thailand in April 2005. In his March defense,
Hasegawa knocked out Vusi Malinga of South Africa, also in the first round