By Hisao Adachi
At the Shinsei Boxing Gym in the city of Kobe, Japan, a press conference was held to officially announce the ring return of former world champion Hozumi Hasegawa (29-4, 12KOs, 30 years of age and part of Shinsei Boxing Gym). The Japanese star will return to the ring on December 17 in Kobe, at the Municipal Central Gymnasium. The scheduled opponent is undefeated Mexican featherweight Carlos Felipe Felix (18-0, 10KOs, 29 years old and from Guadalajala, Mexico).
Felix has not fought since January, while Hasegawa has been inactive for the last eight months, after losing his WBC featherweight crown to Jhonny Gonzalez after being stopped in the fourth round of their April clash. Hasegawa's return bout is scheduled for ten rounds.
In the ten round co-feature at super flyweight, another Mexican will see action against a local boxer from Kobe. World ranked WBC #9 Johnny Garcia (13-3-1, 8KOs) will Yoshihito Ishizaki (6-2-1, 4KOs, 29 years old and Shinsei Boxing Gym in Kobe City).
At the presser, Hasegawa told media members that he plans to evaluate his future in the sport by his next performance in the ring - "I can tell you that my biggest opponent is myself. Getting the win in the ring is very important. My fight with Carlos Felipe Felix will give me an appraisal on my future as a boxer. Where there is will power, you can break many barriers that are in the way."
