Hasegawa vs Montiel

Tense, really high quality match. Really enjoyed that. Ref was a bit slow in the stoppage though. Hasegawa got badly beaten against the ropes there.

 

Yeah. People are missing out on a high quality fight.

 

:good

 

I'd like to see a rematch actually. It was a great punch, no doubt, but I'd ask the question of Montiel...could he find another of those? I only ask this because Hasegawa was looking quite good in the fight. It would be worth seeing, there aren't that many great fights down there so why not.

 

:good

to all three of the above posts

 

Cheers Lee :good

What the **** was Jimmy Lennon doing there?!

Good fight, two guys obviously at the top of their game. Lots of respect between them as well. I actually thought Hasegawa was starting to dominate just before the stoppage. Montiel was looking decent, but Hasegawa just seemed a level above him. As Rob said, he should have took a knee as there were only about 10 seconds left in the round. Fair play to Montiel though, was a lovely left hook that started it off and led to the stoppage.

Would love to see a rematch at some stage. As others have said, winner of Perez-Mares against Montiel would be a very good fight.

 

Good posts all round on this page, I personally think Hasegawa will step up to 122. Would LOVE to see him in against Perez though, think Montiel pulled a peach out of nowhere but if Hasegawa had kept using his superior footspeed he would've been out of range for it.

 

Did anyone see Harada sitting at ringside down by Hasagawa's corner?

 

Cant quite beleive this. I had Hasegawa as the MAN for the future. Greatness has been shattered.

I was sitting in school at 11 and looking for streams but they werent working, I tried buying some but they didnt work. Just when I find a RBR and the fight starts, the bell goes and I got to change room.

 

A rematch, with the winner facing the Perez/Mares winner would make 2010 the best year bantamweight has seen since the departure of Rafael Marquez.

Also, while I like Hozumi's chances in a rematch with Montiel, my previous assertion that he could move up and hang with Nishioka needs to be amended. Hasegawa's chin isn't glass, but he could not handle many straight left hands from his countryman and fellow southpaw. Nishioka would obliterate anybody moving up to challenge him. Hasegawa, Montiel, Perez - they better stay where they are and duke it out amongst themselves. He'll never be called "Sugar Tokiashi", but Nishioka is a monster and a threat to KO his entire division, let alone lighter ones.

 

GP, greatness hasn't been shattered, either he isn't great or he'll come back from it and be great anyway.

 

Was kidding about greatness being shattered. But I really did think hasegawa could have been great. Not sure, I'll need to watch the fight. Hope he comes back but I just got a feeling he won't be able to have much success.

 

Well that's the exciting part, we'll just have to wait and see!

 

Well, let me ask you this: was Donald Curry great?

Obviously Hasegawa has a long way to go to prove he belongs in the same breath as Curry, but hear me out.

The Cobra had pretty well dominated his division for a while, with no one massive win, but many solid ones. Then he was upset by Honeyghan, and moved up to be more comfortable at 154. He virtually shut out the undeniably great Mike McCallum for a few rounds until he got caught.

Now, you can use either fight as a parallel for this one (in the sense that like Honeyghan, Montiel was able to spring an upset and stop the heavily favored and seemingly invincible division kingpin; or in the sense that like McCallum he was or at least should have been well behind on the cards getting thoroughly outclassed while waiting patiently for that one opportunity to connect with something big).

The point is, Curry fought on and managed a few more solid wins (never got that "massive", career-defining one that many feel is required of an ATG) and a fistful of losses to mostly good fighters.

Most of us tend to look back fondly on Donald, and acquit him with a nod of approval and a murmur of consensus that yes, he belongs in the discussion with the greats at welterweight despite not having that one massive win (and despite being stopped twice in his prime). Most of us agree it's an absolute travesty that he's still on the outside looking in at Canastota when he should have been a no-brainer in his first year of eligibility.

Hasegawa can rebound. And even if he doesn't, he was never a case of hype without substance. He wasn't "exposed" or anything like that. He was beaten, after a very respectable run that will stand on its own even if he doesn't rebound and (together with his head-to-head usefulness against some past greats due to styles) warrant inclusion of his name at least when discussing the best bantamweights of the last generation or two, if not maybe top 20-30 ever.

 

Fair enough IB, I do still think he would be in the 20s on the bantamweight ratings. Good parralell with Curry, I just dont think he has quite a proven skillset.