Bernabe Concepcion, who is being hailed as the next Manny Pacquiao, continued to make heads turn after another brilliant performance underneath the explosive welterweight showdown between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Concepcion, rated No. 5 by the World Boxing Council (WBC) in the super-bantamweight ranks of 122 lbs, demolished Mexican-American Adam Carrera in the third round with a thunderous right uppercut, forcing referee Joe Cortez to stop the fight.
Carrera had been down seconds earlier after taking an overhand Concepcion right to the ear and as soon as Cortez signalled them to resume fighting, the 20-year-old Filipino did not waste time and pounced on his woozy foe and finished the job.
Concepcion received a warm embrace from his chief handler Aljo Jaro and was greeted by trainer Freddie Roach when he went back to his corner after less than minutes of action.
The win boosted Concepcion?s win-loss card to 25-1 with 16 knockouts and it is possible that the Catanduanes native might be able to secure a world title try by the end of the year or in early-2009 following his sterling showing.
Concepcion, who is based in Binangonan, Rizal, trained long and hard for his latest bout since he had been sweating out at the Wild Card in Hollywood as early as the middle of June.
One of Concepcion?s registered handlers is Pacquiao.
