By Miguel Rivera
Trainer Rafael Guzman and promoter Oswaldo Küchle have confirmed that Hugo "Cuatito" Ruiz (36-3, 32KOs) will make the first defense of WBC super bantamweight title against former world champion Hozumi Hasegawa (35-5, 15KOs).
Ruiz captured the title in February with a revenge win, stopping Julio Ceja in the first round at the Honda Center in California. Ceja had previously stopped Ruiz in a brutal war, where Ruiz had Ceja down early and nearly done but then Ruiz saw himself get dropped hard and stopped in the fifth round.
"With Hasegawa, a deal is verbally agreed up on with (promoter Akihiko) Honda. The only thing missing is the final date, in August or early September. The conditions are ready to go to Japan, we're just missing the day," said Küchle.
Hasegawa has won two in a row so far since challenging Kiko Martinez for the IBF title in April of 2014 and suffering a knockout defeat in the seventh round. He last fought in December, winning a ten round decision over Carlos Ruiz.
The owner of "Promociones del Pueblo" is expecting in the coming days to confirm the date for the fight. Guzman is already rolling out the details for the start of the training camp.
"I already advised Ruiz to arrive early (Guadalajara) to start train for Hasegawa, I like the fight," said the coach. "Hasegawa fought with Arturo Santos, who is with me. It was a tough fight in Japan and I think that Arthur could have given more to get ahead. Now with Ruiz, I hope to go to Japan to win."
