Manny Pacquiao prot?g? Bernabe Concepcion will have his hands full when he goes up against hard hitting Juan Manuel Lopez for the latter?s World Boxing Organization featherweight title.
The Puerto Rican champion is undefeated as a professional, knocking out all but three of his 28 opponents, including Filipino multi-title holder Gerry Pe?alosa.
He enjoys reach and height advantage over Concepcion and packs more power in his left hand.
Lopez is one of the rising stars in boxing although he is still somewhat unpolished.
He comes looking for knockout but has also shown vulnerability to slick boxing style. However, Lopez will enjoy hometown advantage as the title fight is slated in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Filipinos fighting in front of hostile crowds have not fared well lately, including Rodel Mayol who lost his flyweight crown and Richie Mepranum who lost it his title bid. Both lost in Mexico last month.
Style-wise, Concepcion will be sucker to left straights and body punches from Lopez. The Filipino will hope to avoid trading heavy leathers with Lopez who is likely to come charging like a raging bull. But there?s a caveat in there. Concepcion has shorter reach and needs to fight inside.
Concepcion?s chances will be in the latter rounds, something unfamiliar territory for the Puerto Rican whose fights lasted an average of 4.1 rounds.
The lure of potential big money fight against crowd-pleasing Rafael Marquez could pose a distraction for Lopez. If he takes Concepcion lightly, he could be a victim of a big upset.
I am not overly optimistic about Concepcion?s ability to pull an upset but the Filipino packs a mean wallop so he could cause an upset.
Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri will need all the wisdom they learned from being sidekicks of Freddie Roach in the corner of Concepcion.
Good luck.
