Hozumi Hasegawa
, chairman of KOBE Hasegawa Gym, held a press conference at the gym in Kobe on the 24th and announced that former WBO Asia-Pacific Super Bantamweight champion Subaru Murata (29) will make his debut fight with the gym on August 22 at the Kobe Municipal Central Gymnasium. This will be KOBE Hasegawa Gym’s first official professional bout, and Murata will face Jason Faklarin (26), ranked No. 9 in the Philippines at bantamweight, in a 10-round super bantamweight bout.
長谷川ジム移籍第１戦の決まった前王者の村田㊨
Murata, who had recorded 10 consecutive KO victories, suffered his first loss—a decision defeat—in his third title defense this past February. Seeking a fresh start, he transferred from his former gym, Teiken Gym, to KOBE Hasegawa Gym in March. A native of Iwade City, Wakayama Prefecture, Murata had been commuting to Seishin Gym in Kobe City in his father’s car since fifth grade, where he would watch world champion Chairman Hasegawa train. “I want to go back to my roots and start boxing all over again,” he said, resolving to train under Chairman Hasegawa, whom he had long admired. Leaving his wife and 8-month-old daughter behind in Iwade City, he moved to Kobe alone in July to embark on his path to the world stage in this new environment.
“Subaru-kun once stayed overnight at my house when he was in elementary school, and my wife even wrapped his bandages for him. I feel like there’s something fateful about this,” said Chairman Hasegawa. “In any case, I’m going to have him tackle the same training volume I did when I was a world champion. It’s going to be hellish training that pushes him to the very brink of overwork,” he said, emphasizing the “hell” aspect to Murata.
The bout will serve as the main event of “REAL SPIRITS VOL. 95,” hosted by Seijin Gym. The undercard will feature an eight-round bout between Takashi Inoue (Seijin), ranked No. 3 in Japan at light flyweight, and Yoshihiro Tai (RST), ranked No. 4 by the WBO-AP at super flyweight, among other matches.
