THE RISE OF NABF KING BERNABE CONCEPCION
By Alex P. Vidal
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 14 Sep 2008
It was in 2004 when boxing manager and promoter Aljoe Jaro discovered the then skinny 15-year-old Bernabe Concepcion, who is from Virac, Catanduanes. Concepcion was brought to Jaro's gym in Binangonan, Rizal by his cousin Benjie, Jaro's protege who was the country's number one contender in the junior bantamweight divison. Benjie had not won a major title and he decided to quit. He presented his cousin to Jaro as his "replacement."
Wth his excellent physique and height, Jaro was immedately attracted to Bernabe, who was actually a boxing enthusiast when he was a kid. "I started training him at the young age of 15 and when he reached 16, he began his professional career with a license from the Games and Amusement Board (GAB)," recalled Jaro.
On February 14, 2004, Concepcion made his debut as prizefighter with a four-round decision win over George Zerrudo in Mandaluyong City. After winning his second and third fights as four-rounder, he rolled into another three-fight winning streak as six-rounder. Concepcion passed his acid test as 8-rounder with three more victories in a row over Edgar Gabijan (UD 8), Danilo Logramonte (KO 1), and Sonny Gonzalez (KO 4).
In his ninth professonal outing and first fight as 10-rounder on March 5, 2005, Concepcion, then 17, suffered his first setback, losing by majority decision to veteran Mark Sales, a former World Boxing Federation (WBF) world contender, at the Joe Cantada Sports Center in Taguig City. Jaro recalled that after the loss to Sales, Concepcion was rushed to the Paranaque Medical Center after he passed out due to over fatigue.
"But he never lost his determination and promised to bounce back," Jaro said. After two months, Concepcion was back in the ring and scored a first round knockout win against Elden Dela Cruz in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur. This was followed by two more scintillating stoppage wins over Flash Murillo (TKO 6) in Pagasa, Binangonan, Rizal and Noel Sungahid (KO1) in Mandaluyong City.
On December 10, 2005 at the St. Lucia East Mall in Cainta, Rizal, Concepcion earned a crack at the Philippine super bantamweight title worn by veteran Alex Escaner. Concepcion decked Escaner in the second round but could not finish him of. In the 11th stanza, Concepcion slipped as he was trying to launch an attack in the body but the referee ruled it as knockdown thus the fight ended in split draw after 12 rounds.
"Concepcon felt bad by the decision as we believed we clearly won that fight. He told me he felt bad and was ashamed because I spent a big amount of money in that promotion," said Jaro. "But I continued to inspire him and egged him to rise from that controversial draw and move forward."
Jaro said Concepcion quckly recovered from the Escaner draw and scored an impressive 6th round technical knockout win (TKO) over Rico Genon at the Misamis Oriental Capitol Grounds in Cagayan de Oro City on January 7, 2006. He was back in the winnng column and on February 24, 2006, Concepcon won his first major crown in his first foreign assignment with a 7th round knockout win against Wei Yang Jiang at the Super Brand Mall in Shanghai, China for the PABA super featherweight junior championship.
After a successful outing abroad, Concepcion registered five more straight victories against Rey Martizano (KO1 ), Jake Verano (SD 10), Jojo Arnado (KO1), Ariel Delgado (TD 5), and Gonzales (UD 10) in a rematch.
"His self confidence was restored and he sad he was ready for more big fights abroad," said Jaro who collabrorated with Cebu-based promoter Rex "Wakee" Salud in scouting for lucrative fights in the United States for Concepcion. "Through the help of Wakee Salud, Concepcion was able to fight in the United States."
Salud tapped the services of Michael Koncz, who now co-manages Concepcion together with Jaro and world lightweight champion Manny Pacquiao.
In his first fight in the United States on November 18, 2006, Concepcion easily won a 10-round battle for the WBC Youth super bantamweight title against Joksan Hernandez at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. He went back to the Philippines and disposed of Jae-Choon Moon in four rounds in a non-title duel at the Baguio Convention Center in Baguio City on February 25, 2007.
On April 14, 2007, Concepcon was back in the United States and defended his crown with a 10-round unanimous decision win over Benjamin Flores at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
On August 4, 2007, Concepcon captured the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) super bantamweight crown with a fourth round knockout win over Gabriel Elizondo at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
It was followed by another 9th round stoppage win over Salvador Garcia at the Hardrock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 4, 2007.
On Feb. 9, 2008, Concepcion kept his NABF title with a hard-earned 12-round unanimous decision win over Juan Ruiz at the Domo De La Feria, Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.
On April 26, 2008, Concepcion once again invaded Mexico and stopped Torrence Daniels in two rounds to retain his title at the Plaza de Toros Juriquilla in Querataro.
In his recent fight on July 26, 2008, he demolished Adam Carrera in three rounds at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Concepcion will fight Giovannie Caro on September 25 at the Sycuan Resort and Casio in El Cajon, California. He might earn a crack at the world title if he will defeat Caro impressively.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Alex P. Vidal.
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