They are both talented and in their early twenties, yet as Diego Magdaleno and Bernabe Concepcion head into their respective May 6th bouts there is a contrast in what each fight means to the two men. Magdaleno, an undefeated junior lightweight contender, and Concepcion, a featherweight hopeful from Rizal, Philippines, will co-headline a card from the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on the eve of the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley fight at the nearby MGM Grand.
Magdaleno is a local prospect, training out of Barry’s Boxing right off of the strip, and his potential has recently had an explanation point behind it with three explosive technical knockouts in a four-month span. Prior to his September thrashing of Carlos Oliveira at the Palm Casino, Magdaleno had gone nine bouts without a stoppage victory, instead showing off his boxing skills in outsmarting his foes.
<--- Slideshow: Images of Bernabe Concepcion and Diego Magdaleno
But something was different as Magdaleno squared off against his Brazilian counterpart on this night. He seemed to be overly aggressive and fighting with a sense of purpose that we hadn’t yet seen from him. Magdaleno ripped the body and head with abandon and his surprising TKO had the crowd inside of the Pearl Theatre on their feet. His victory in November over Derrick Campos and his January drubbing of Marcos Jimenez were equally impressive and suddenly Magdaleno has a lot of intrigue behind him.
Magdaleno is trained by Pat Barry, who also serves as his manager, and he has gotten great work around the Vegas area, most notably getting into some heated sessions last year with Argentinean firecracker Marcos Maidana. In less than six months Magdaleno has seen his career skyrocket and the 24-year has a lot of well-earned buzz behind him.
Concepcion is a different story, however.
Having just turned 23 years old last month, the southpaw fighter would seem to have many years ahead of him given his strength, athleticism and punch. But once you dig a little deeper into his career you can tell that there is a slight sense of urgency with Bernabe riding on this fight.
Concepcion has already been a professional for seven years now and has fallen short on his two shots at a world title, losing to Steven Luevano via disqualification in August of 2009 and most recently to WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez by way of a thrilling, albeit one-sided 2nd round TKO.
Fighting on Lopez’s home turf of Puerto Rico, Concepcion was overwhelmed from jump street yet he was able to dig down and catch his eager foe with a counter right hook that dropped him near the end of the first. That moment was short lived, however, as Lopez regrouped to floor Concepcion in the second round and found a way to polish him off moments later.
The brutal reality was that Concepcion simply wasn’t nearly ready to challenge a fighter the caliber of Lopez and he hasn’t fought since, seeing a November appearance at the MGM Grand cut short due to a hand injury. He desperately needs a win to get back on track and it will be interesting to see who he gets put in the ring with in a few months’ time.
So, while Magdaleno and Concepion may be sharing the spotlight on May 6th, there is a different feel about the careers of each man. Magdaleno’s stock is riding high and people are curious as to how far he can go while Concepcion is simply looking to rebound and put the taste of the Lopez defeat behind him.
Not quite a desperate situation but Concepcion simply needs to put some wins together to get himself back in the picture.
