Is Bernabe Concepcion being fed to the lion too early? Is this fight merely a small obstacle for Juan Manuel Lopez on his quest to a ?real? fight against Juan Manuel Marquez?
Lopez should be definitely be favored in this fight by a wide margin considering he?s fought better opponents and been more dominant in defeating his foes, but Concepcion?s chances should not be underestimated.
No one has ever questioned Concepcion?s talent and physical gifts, but just has not put everything together yet, which many points to his attitude and perceived lack of work ethic.
But as we?ve learned with Pacquiao in the Diaz fight, a fighter can put everything together at any given time. According to Roach the David Diaz fight was when Pacquiao put everything together; the first time his footwork caught up with his other skill sets.
In a fight that can catapult him to stardom in his home country and make him one of the brightest stars in the featherweight division, Concepcion should definitely be in great shape for this fight. Concepcion only needs to look at his last fight to see that he needs to improve his conditioning as it almost cost him a victory in the fight against Santiago.
Personally, I don?t think we?ve seen the best mentally and physically prepared Concepcion. If we do in this fight, then Juan Manuel Lopez could be in danger of suffering his first loss.
Lopez has never fought an opponent with Concepcion?s combination of physical gifts and talent. Daniel Ponce De Leon might have greater power, but was easy to hit with his lack of movement and wide punches. Gerry Penalosa, no doubt might have been better skilled, but was fighting above his normal division and past his prime when he fought Lopez.
On the other hand Concepcion has above average power, speed and underrated footwork. In fact, if Concepcion did put the necessary effort in training camp and follows the instruction of his trainer Buboy, then this fight can turn into another version of the Pacquiao vs Cotto fight.
Lopez much like Cotto is a fighter that needs to get his feet straight to throw his punches, on the other hand Concepcion can throw punches on his toes while darting in and out. Also, Concepcion probably has a slight edge in hand speed. Lopez might be more accurate and throw harder, but it can be rendered useless if Concepcion is able to land first during exchanges and confuse the former with movements. Furthermore, if Concepcion uses the ring well and borrows the strategy used by Pacquiao against De La Hoya, by throwing punches before Lopez sets his feet, then he can be successful.
It should also not be a surprised if Concepcion surprises everyone by knocking out Lopez. Lopez has a decent chin, but Concepcion has the ability to throw punches at odd angles as we saw in his fight against Adam Carrera, which can spell disaster for the former. In addition, Lopez is used to cruising to an easy victory in his fights but can be vulnerable if taken the distance. He can overspend his energy by becoming too aggressive when he thinks his opponent is hurt and that fact almost cost him a victory against Mtagwa.
So definitely Concepcion is a live dog in what should be an exciting fight. He might be being fed to a lion, but he certainly has the weapons to tame one.
Read also what Martin Mulcahey of Maxboxing.com had to say about the fight below.
“The common opponent of Steven Luevano tells a lot about Juanma and Concepcion. Juanma pretty much had his way and stopped Luevano, while Concepcion was fighting Luevano evenly and struggling to cut off the ring against his slick opponent. I can’t see an advantage in any area for Concepcion with the possible exception that he has been at the weight longer with Lopez only having one fight at featherweight. Lopez has shown an ability to defeat every style and also employ different tactics to get his way, while Concepcion is a pressure guy with some flare but too much predictability. Juanma will stay on the outside and use his three-inch height and reach advantage to pick apart Concepcion until the later rounds when he can try for a stoppage if his foe begins to fade. Ring intellect is what separates these two, and Lopez is just too mature for Concepcion to lure into a brawl. I like Lopez by a unanimous decision of eight points or more.”
