WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Hozumi Hasegawa Announces Retirement

WBC super bantamweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa announced his retirement from the sport.

Hasegawa finishes his career, legendary for a Japanese boxer, with world titles in three different weight classes (bantamweight, super bantamweight and featherweight). He ends his career with a 36-5 record with 16 knockouts. He said in a statement he has done everything in the sport and that he is having trouble staying motivated after his latest win. He defeated Hugo Ruiz in Osaka, Japan on September 16 to claim the WBC super bantamweight crown.

"I have nothing to prove more, and it becomes truly hard to have myself motivated to go on after my third coronation," Hasegawa said.

Hasegawa, who turned pro in 1999, got his first world title shot in 2005 and won a unanimous decision to dethrone bantamweight titleholder Veeraphol Sahaprom. He held the title for nearly five years and made 10 successful defenses, including beating Sahaprom by ninth-round knockout in a 2006 rematch and has had victories over other quality contenders such as Genaro Garcia, Simpiwe Vetyeka and Vusi Malinga.

The 35-year-old, who turns 36 on December 16, is the first Japanese boxer to successfully defend a world bantamweight title at least four times. The win against Ruiz made Hasegawa boxing's 45th triple champion, which is an accomplishment given to boxers who have won world titles in three different weight classes, and the fourth Japanese triple champion.