Bernabe Concepcion who suffered a second round TKO at the hands of WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel ?Juanma? Lopez (28-0, 26 KO?s) in San Juan, Puerto Rico on July 10, 2010 is being groomed to fight on the Lopez title defense against Rafael Marquez (39-5, 35 KO?s) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on September 18.
Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao?s adviser Michael Koncz said MP Promotions which handles Concepcion and other fighters is hoping to get Concepcion on the card which is being promoted by Top Rank?s Bob Arum.
Koncz told us ?its not a hundred percent but we are working on that because we want to bring him (Concepcion) back as soon as possible.?
However, Koncz added ?Bernabe?s fight is pretty much confirmed? although no opponent has been lined up as yet.
Pacquiao?s adviser said he had given Concepcion a chance to return to Manila and to take a week off and relax but had asked him to ?continue jogging and to stay in condition.?
Despite his loss the 22 year old Concepcion who has a record of 28-4-1 with 15 knockouts won praise for having dropped Juanma Lopez in the dying seconds of the opening round when the champion wobbled to his corner and appeared to be saved by the bell.
In fact Jim Dower of BoxingNews 24.com said that ?by coming out gunning with both hands, Concepcion showed a ton of courage and g ot up off the deck in the opening round top knock the powerful Lopez down later in the first round. Even if Concepcion didn?t knock Lopez down in the fight, he still would have come out of the loss looking good because Concepcion?s fighting style was entertaining throughout and he was willing to go down put on his shield.?
Dower added, ?it was like watching a younger version og Manny Pacquiao before he had acquired knowledge in how to fight, slugging it out against a much more technically oriented fighter. If you look at it like that you can?t help but be impressed with the performance from Concepcion.?
Comments
Share your thoughts on the above article by Ronnie Nathanielsz.