Damn it! Márquez is one of my favourites but I have only seen one Hasegawa fight so am reluctant to comment.
Hasegawa was very talented but definitely couldn't take it like he could dish it out. I think Marquez finds him with a big shot at some time and that's all she wrote.
That's a fight that I wish could have happened between 2005 - 2007. Hasegawa was very talented and skilled but always had such a lackluster defense along with a rather fragile chin and recovery. No doubt that he gives Marquez some trouble early but one big shot from Marquez will completely change the fight and I can see Rafa winning by stoppage at some point in the halfway mark.
Watch his fights with Veeraphol Sahaprom for a good start. Hasegawa was always fun to watch, love his style.
Yep, I concur. Their first fight got me interested in lower weight classes and made me a fan of Asian boxing forverer. I think @Russell 's take is spot on. Hasegawa was very talented, but He never showed ability to stay out of danger against big puncher for 12 rounds - and his durability was a clear flaw for him on the elite level. Don't see him pulling it off against smart, disciplined boxer-puncher like Marquez. It could be from behind, but Rafa would eventually get him.
I think Hasegawa became more inclined to trade and look for the knockout later on despite never being a huge puncher himself. It is interesting how Hasegawa managed to beat Sahaprom twice given those flaws that we pointed out. Sahaprom was a fighter that's known for a being a disciplined and smart boxer-puncher with power to boot like Rafael Marquez, although it can be said that he was a bit past it by the time Hasegawa got to him. Sahaprom is another fighter I wish got the opportunity to fight Marquez while they were both champ at the time.
He probably was a bit past it - but I also don't think He ever was on Marquez's level, as a puncher. He had good power, but it was more about precision and accumulation. Rafael was also much bigger. He weighed in at 134 pounds for Pastrana rematch, day of the fight - I specifically remember it since I saw it not long ago and it stunned me. Veeraphol on the other hand looked smaller than many of his opponent and I suspect He could've campaigned at Super Flyweight. That's quite an unusual thing about him by the way - Thai fighters are usually big weight-cutters.
I agree with the sentiment that Rafa probably just finds the button at some point, even though as far as champions meeting highly outmatched opponents, HH is one of my favourite guys to watch because he's a talented combination puncher that loves to put 'em together. But listen, you guys might find this interesting, because I just found out, learning about other cultures: In Japan, they would say his name 'Ashwagandagwomie Hey, Ozempic Hey.' It's how they talk there because of the war. Just thought that was cool.
Hozumi Hasegawa...I would say he's more skilled probably,but the problem is he literally gets destroyed by most Mexican fighters he met. Maybe another one for rafa.
Exactly how I see it. Marquez would break him down to the body and get him to drop his hands, then it would be goodnight!
