By Cliff Rold
In July 1972, Enrique Pinder won the Bantamweight championship of the World from Rafael Herrera and, shortly thereafter, found himself with only one of the then-two most recognized belts in the sport. He was stripped by the WBC for not facing their contender of choice, Rodolfo Martinez. It didn’t matter that Herrera promptly knocked out Martinez in their first of two memorable contests for the vacant strap; the title split remained.
It has remained for almost 38 years.
Even as one (IBF) and then another (WBO) sanctioning body came into existence, there was no unification. None. Even when, with still only two belts floating around, boxing got both titlists in the ring it was contested above the weight limit. Opting for the non-title rout to skirt sanctioning fees, the great Carlos Zarate (WBC) knocked out Alfonso Zamora (WBA) in four rounds.
Boxing hasn’t even come that close since.
It doesn’t mean Bantamweight has been without memorable action or warriors. The reigns of Jeff Chandler and Orlando Canizales got both into the Hall of Fame. Johnny Tapia, Veeraphol Sahaprom, Tim Austin, Wilfredo Vasquez, Rafael Marquez, Junior Jones, Duke McKenzie…the list is long of top notch pugs that, for at least awhile, made Bantamweight home.
Still, it is notable that this weekend, the sport manages to get two of the division’s notable beltholders into the ring together, at 118 lbs., for the first time in two generations. Even this will be mitigated; boxing politics allow for recognition of the WBC and WBA alone in Japan, the location of the fight. That means only one man can leave the ring on Saturday with two titles.
So be it. The unification element isn’t the strongest ingredient in making this fight worth looking forward to. It might not be the Shane Mosley-Floyd Mayweather “Superfight” fans will find occurring in Las Vegas on Saturday, but it’ll probably feel as big on Friday for the fans in Tokyo and the fighters in the ring.
What creates the element of intrigue are the men in the ring. WBC titlist Hozumi Hasegawa is perceived to be at the top of his game; WBO titlist Fernando Montiel, a title scene fixture in three divisions over the last decade, has shown signs of decline.
Montiel has done that before and found ways to surprise. Does he have another great stand in him? Or is Hasegawa what he looks like: a serious pound for pound talent ready to cross from the fringes of hardcore interest to the heart of global discussions?
Let’s go to the report card.
The Ledgers
Hozumi Hasegawa
Age: 29
Titles/Previous Titles: WBC Bantamweight (2005-Present, 10 Defenses)
Height: 5’6
Weight: 117.75 lbs.
Average Weight – Last Five Fights: 117.7 lbs.
Hails from: Kobe, Japan
Record: 28-2, 12 KO
BoxingScene Rank: #1
Record in Championship Fights: 11-0, 7 KO
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 1 (Veraphol Sahaprom)
Vs.
Fernando Montiel
Age: 31
Title: WBO Bantamweight (2009-Present, 1 Defense)
Previous Titles: WBO Flyweight (2000-02, 3 Defenses); WBO Jr. Bantamweight (2002-03, 1 Defense; 2005-09, 7 Defenses)
Height: 5’4
Weight: 118 lbs.
Average Weight – Last Five Fights: 117.6 lbs.
Hails from: Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
Record: 40-2-2, 30 KO
BoxingScene Rank: #6
Record in Championship Fights: 16-2, 12 KO
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Defeated: 8 (Cruz Carbajal, Isidro Garcia, Juan Domingo Cordoba, Jose Lopez, Pedro Alcazar, Ruben Sanchez Leon, Ivan Hernandez, Martin Castillo)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced in Defeat: 2 (Mark Johnson, Jhonny Gonzalez)
Grades
Pre-Fight: Speed – Hasegawa A; Montiel B+
Pre-Fight: Power – Hasegawa B+; Montiel A-
Pre-Fight: Defense – Hasegawa B+; Montiel B
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Hasegawa A; Montiel A-
Were Montiel a couple years younger, speed would have to be considered even in this one. It’s not a couple years ago. Montiel recently, even in scoring a sensational stoppage his last time out, was more flat footed and putting more into his shots. It appears he’s leveraging to make things count more because he can’t rely on his reflexes like he used to. What makes this fight interesting speed-wise is that both men are comfortable playing at varying speeds.
Both will paw with their jab, Montiel’s from the left and Hasegawa’s a southpaw right, feinting and then closing the distance with their real stuff. Standing and fighting taller than Montiel, when he lets his long left hand go, Hasegawa’s ‘real’ stuff will land first and with accuracy to back it. A slashing right hook is a stunner and has a habit of catching opponent’s blind.
The accuracy and closing speed on his big shots is largely why Hasegawa enters off five straight knockouts. He’s proven to have better finishing ability than assumed for most of his career but it’s still not better than Montiel. The Mexican veteran consistently been able to punch and being in his third weight class hasn’t changed that.
Defensively, Hasegawa will hold an edge based on fresher legs. He does a good job of measuring foes, predicting their counters and being a step away from the worst of them. Hasegawa seems comfortable with foes who box or pressure him, rarely taking heavy punishment.
Montiel has faced some of the best of the lower divisions and it’s meant his share of long nights. Montiel’s always been craftier than the stereotypical Mexican pressure fighter but that hasn’t meant shying from battle. His head movement is still world class and he knows how to position himself in the ring, but Montiel’s best defense might be timing Hasegawa and countering before Hasegawa can build steam.
In terms of intangibles, Hasegawa probably has the edge in this moment. He’s riding eleven straight wins in title fights and a streak of twenty-five straight overall. While he hasn’t beaten a ton of titlist types (though Sahaprom was a special one and he did it twice), his challengers have been largely legitimate. Genaro Garcia entered off eight straight wins; Vusi Malinga entered off a stoppage of Sahaprom; Alejandro Valdez appeared to have an earned victory manipulated from him against Montiel last year after facing Hasegawa. Malinga and Valdez were stopped early; Garcia came off the floor twice to lose on points.
The Valdez fight was a surprise and fuels speculation of Montiel possibly being in decline. It’s been speculated on before. After he lost to Mark Johnson in 2003, it was asked if Montiel was too gunshy after defeating Pedro Alcazar only to have Alcazar die just days later. After he warred with and came off the floor to beat Luis Melendez in 2007, one could ask if his legs were going.
He mostly just kept winning.
He knocked out Johnson conqueror Ivan Hernandez in 2005; followed Melendez with a career-best knockout of Martin Castillo. A similarity can be found in his struggles; Melendez, Johnson, and Valdez are all southpaws. Were Johnson the only one to have troubled Montiel, it would be no big deal. Johnson was a marvelous talent who troubled everyone. However, it has been more than Johnson. Hasegawa, who throws his lead left from odd angles, could prove the latest southpaw dilemma for Montiel.
Despite that, Montiel has quietly had one of the better little man runs in recent memory. His longevity, and his never being stopped, speaks to high intangibles.
The Pick
As big as the fight is for the division, and it’s big despite no notable U.S. television coverage, it also somewhat wears the look of a showcase. Hasegawa has as much momentum as any fighter from Japan has had in years. This is intended as his coming out party. Even if many don’t see the fight until it’s somewhere like YouTube days afterwards, a clean win over a Montiel is a result whose headline carries weight.
That doesn’t mean Montiel is there to play opponent. This is his first unification bout in any weight class and a win could redraw the view of his entire career. He might be just a hair past peak, but for a fight of this magnitude it will be hard to tell in the ring. Hasegawa, with the hometown winds at his back, is just better right now and in a groove. Montiel will fight well and last the distance, but he should drop at least once and won’t be able to stop Hasegawa from taking over late. Hasegawa by clear but entertaining unanimous decision.
Report Card Picks 2010: 12-5
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com