The notion that Bernabe Concepcion was being fed to the lions was common among boxing experts prior to the fight. As a Filipino writer and a boxing fan, I was always consistent in my opinion that JuanMa was just too much for Concepcion. I remember myself and Ronnie Nathanielsz advising Bernabe via Facebook to study the fight of Lopez versus Gerry Pe?alosa and against Rogers Mtagwa which were so far the most competitive among his bouts. Those two had the boxing skills but didn?t have enough power to finish Lopez. Concepcion had the youth and power which those two lacked.
But looking at the fight, Concepcion obviously fought otherwise. At the opening bell he engaged in an amateurish street fight which cost him wobbling and getting knocked down early. He knew he was a sucker for JuanMa?s left but never did anything to solve it. Despite getting knocked down, the Filipino continued slugging it out instead of using his footwork to avoid getting hit and try recovering. He never jabbed. He was really there to brawl. Luckily, a counter left hook dropped Lopez to the canvass with 17 seconds left in the first round but JuanMa survived the round. That was a surprise both to the defending Champion and to the crowd. But that knock down never stopped Lopez from pursuing his onslaught of the Filipino contender.
I thought Concepcion?s corner would advise him to change the game plan and box instead of going toe to toe. But again, he was brawling his way perhaps thinking that he could turn the fight in his favor and possibly score a knock out. But it never worked that way. Bernabe?s all offense and no defense fighting ended the night tragically as successive blows and a final left hook from Lopez sent the Real Deal crushing to the canvass for good at 2:32 of round 2.
It is very tempting to finger point and pass blames for Concepcion?s loss. Some will say Concepcion was not ready to face an opponent of JuanMa?s caliber. That he was a lamb thrown to the wolves. That Bob Arum just used him as a tune up for Lopez who is set to face Rafael Marquez on September. These could be true. But I don?t see it that way.
I believe that Bernabe Concepcion was just another fighter who was given a big break by his promoter. People thought Manny Pacquiao was being fed to the lions when he was matched against Marco Antonio Barrera. Boxing experts called the Pacquiao-De la Hoya fight as a circus. But we all know what happened in those fights.
Yes, Bernabe is not Manny. But he should not have signed the contract if he knew he never had a chance at JuanMa?s belt. Concepcion knew he could do it. His trainers believed JuanMa was not invincible and that there was a blue print to beat him.
But things went wrong on fight night. In my opinion, Concepcion was just too confident. The way he grinned as he was introduced, his confident smile, he was not the same Bernabe I saw in his previous fights. There was an added element of cockiness in him which I couldn?t explain. His fighting style was not consistent. He improved a lot and was technically better when he beat Mario Santiago. But he was totally reckless against Lopez. Getting reckless against an undefeated Champion who boasts a record of 25 knock outs out of 28 wins is totally illogical if not stupid.
But that?s boxing. You win some you lose some. I would still commend the brave heart of Concepcion. Being able to knock Lopez down was a good souvenir. But boxing is not all about courage. It is also a mind game like chess. It needs both heart and mind to win titles. If it?s all heart and no brain, then the only sure thing you can after retiring is Parkinson?s disease. I am not saying Ali and Coach Freddie are ?all heart? kind of boxers. They are exceptions.
Concepcion is only 22 with only 4 losses. He is not a hopeless case. His last two losses were against good champions. He can still win titles in the future. He only needs to mature and to keep his feet on the ground.
