By Mark Vester
The opponent for WBC bantamweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa has been switched. He will now face Alvaro Perez of Nicaragua at Kobe World Memorial Hall on December 18. The original opponent was announced as former champion Eric Morel. Last week in Puerto Rico, Morel said that he received an offer but never actually agreed to the fight. Morel said he was still considering the offer.
The promoters in Japan indicate that Morel was having issues being able to enter Japan because of his criminal history and they were forced to find another opponent. Shortly after Morel dropped a decision to Martin Castillo in March of 2005, he was convicted of sexual assault of a drunken 15-year-old girl and was sent to prison. He was granted an early release in July of 2007 and did not return to the ring again until February of 2008.
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