THE CURIOUS CASE OF BERNABE CONCEPCION
By Chito Yu Katangkatang
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 18 Mar 2012
Bernabe Concepcion is 24 years old with a record of 29 wins 15 by KO with 6 losses 2 of which via stoppage, his most recent loss being the seventh round knockout from the hands of undefeated Mickey Garcia. Those who labeled Abe a bum and suggested for his retirement after his loss are not genuine Pinoy Boxing fans. They are crustaceans disguised as humans and these crabs are nothing but self proclaimed boxing experts who know nothing about the realities of the sweet science. This scribe does not believe Abe is washed up and done with the sport. He should only pause for a while, contemplate on the current status of his career, and fix some problems which involve two things: his management and himself.
Contrary to the narration of fellow scribe Jason Aniel, Abe Concepcion made his US debut on November 18, 2006 versus Joksan Fernandez for the WBC Youth World Super Bantamweight Title. The fight was staged at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas and Concepcion won the title via a convincing unanimous decision. Abe was then handled by Aljoe Jaro who served not only as his manager and promoter but as his full time trainer. Freddie Roach was still out of the picture. Concepcion?s knockout winning streak went on versus Jae-Choon Moon in Baguio, Gabriel Elizondo in Rosemont Illinois, Salvador Garcia in Las Vegas, Torrence Daniels in Mexico, Adam Carrera in Las Vegas, Giovanni Caro in California, and Sandie Otieno in Manila. The streak included three decision wins against Benjamin Flores in Texas, Juan Ruiz in Mexico and Yogli Herrera in Las Vegas.
In the above fights, Aljoe Jaro personally handled if not closely monitored the training camp of Bernabe Concepcion. According to Jaro, things started to change between him and his ward when MP Promotions henchman and Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz started to usurp his role in handling Abe after their fifth win overseas. Koncz and Abe traveled to the US without informing Jaro and never consulted him on major decisions involving the boxer. Things became obvious during the Concepcion-Luevano fight when Jaro was told by Koncz that he had nothing to do with Bernabe Concepcion anymore since the boxer has been signed up with MP Promotions. Abe has obviously been sweet talked and brainwashed and has shifted loyalty to his new fairy godfather.
MP Promotions contracted Freddie Roach to handle the training of Abe at the Wild Card Gym. However, certain reports revealed that the Hall of Famer Coach had problems with the working attitude of Concepcion. Concepcion was reportedly lazy and often came in late which caused much disappointment to the renowned trainer. Freddie Roach eventually gave up training Bernabe Concepcion.
From the disqualification loss to Steven Luevano, Concepcion bounced back through a unanimous decision victory over Mario Santiago, but would once again suffer a heartbreaking loss to JuanMa Lopez via TKO2 and an unexpected split decision loss versus journeyman Juan Carlos Martinez. Abe came back with a split decision win over newbie Aaron Garcia and his latest TKO7 loss against Miguel Angel Garcia wherein replaced Michael Farenas as Garcia?s foe.
Aljoe Jaro always believed in Abe Concepcion. He sold and mortgaged properties just to promote his fights and mold him into being the next sensational boxing champion that the Philippines can produce. He knew Abe had the raw talent and heart of a champion. ?When he started winning abroad and Michael Koncz got closer to him. He became swell headed. He would no longer heed my advice and would only listen to Koncz who promised him the moon and the stars. He became arrogant when I confronted him. It hurts knowing how much effort, time and money I have wasted to develop his career. It is difficult when a boxer forgets how to look back to where he came from. Indeed success can be intoxicating. Abe has been fame drunk and brainwashed. At 24, he can still make it. But he needs to change the course of his life. He needs to go back to the old Abe who knows how to listen, humble and unassuming. I wonder what Koncz will do now that Abe has been losing and turning into a journeyman. Abe is not washed up. There are still many things left in him. But nothing will happen if he keeps being fed to the lions. His career will depend on his own decisions. Maybe he can look up at his former stablemate Sonny Boy Jaro who is 29 year old with a horrible looking record but still pulled the trigger and became world champion,? Aljoe Jaro told Philboxing.
A boxer?s career is like Life itself. It can go up or down depending on the decisions we make and the roads we choose to take. Abe Concepcion is a good boxer and I am sure of that. And I believe he can still become a world champion. But he needs to re-assess himself. See where he failed. Rectify his mistakes and make the right decisions.
To be more concrete, Abe should: a) find a good trainer. b) work hard and punish himself in the gym. c) find a manager who will not feed him to the wolves and lions but will guide his career in the right direction. d) keep his feet grounded.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Chito Yu Katangkatang.
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