When you grow to be close to someone a part of you shares their success as well as their pain. Heading into his good friend Bernabe Concepcion?s WBO featherweight title bid this past weekend, Welterweight hopeful Rashad Holloway was very optimistic about his buddy?s chances to upend champion Juan Manuel Lopez on his home turf in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Unfortunately Concepcion would fall short, losing by a 2nd round TKO, in one of the year?s more memorable bouts.
Holloway has known Concepcion for over four years, dating back to their training days in Houston, Texas, and has always spoken well of his stable mate from the Philippines. When Holloway relocated from Las Vegas back to Los Angeles to train at the Wild Card Gym a few months ago he was able to reconnect with Concepcion but when looking back at the developments of the fight it was Lopez who stood out more than anything else.
?Juan Manuel Lopez is an elite level fighter,? Holloway said with respect. ?He came out wanting to fight. I thought Bernabe had a good shot I just really don?t know. He just didn?t put his punches together well. I thought when he dropped him in the first round I thought he should have come out in the second round and kind of had more control as far as boxing wise.?
While the loss was disappointing in many regards Concepcion was able to floor Lopez with a wicked left hook towards the end of the first round. Holloway wasn?t surprised that Concepcion dropped his Rio Piedras foe but feels he should have been more calculated with his follow-up attack.
?I knew that was his gift,? Holloway said. ?Bernabe can punch, that?s his thing. Honestly I?m not going to say that he could have outboxed Juanma but as far as being a better athlete, Bernabe is a good athlete. He is a very agile guy, he can move well. He?s quick on his feet and he?s a big puncher. I thought that he would basically have to use his athleticism and put his punches together to win this fight. I thought he had a good shot at stopping him.?
A loss is always a hard thing to cope with. While Holloway?s 11-1-2 record is marred by his March 2006 defeat at the hands of Martin Tucker, he insists that how a fighter bounces back depends on the circumstances surrounding his performance.
?It depends on how you lose,? Holloway claimed. ?The way I lost was totally different. My loss was different. I lost because of me. I didn?t? train at all for that fight. In his case, where you just get dominated or whatever, I don?t know. I really don?t know how that can actually affect you. When you are actually in tip top shape and give it your all and you still can?t win that?s kind of tough.?
In the wake of Concepcion?s loss there has been a wave of criticism directed at his handlers as to why the 22-year old was rushed into his fight with the formidable champion. It is the type of situation that has caused a sea of backlash but in looking at the positives Holloway feels that Concepcion still has the ability to turn things around.
?I think he can definitely bounce back,? Holloway stated. ?After a fight like that you are going to need some time to relax. He needs to relax, spend some time in the Philippines, and come right back. He had a couple of fights, two shots at a title, but he?s a talented kid and he?s young. He can bounce back; it?s just a matter of changing some things that he was doing before that didn?t get him over the hump. He needs to evaluate some things and see. Sometimes you just face certain guys. He?s faced two southpaws for a world title. I don?t think that?s his best bet.?
As for his own personal career, Holloway revealed that he has been sparring with WBA welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko under the watchful eye of his trainer Freddie Roach. Holloway has a July 30th date penciled in for a fight in New York but Roach has approached him about the possibility of fighting in Russia sometime in August. Holloway is mulling things over for the moment but no matter how things play out this should be an eventful summer for the Cincinnati, Ohio native.
