A PILLOW FOR SERVANIA
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 22 Oct 2013
CEBU CITY ? If Rafael Concepcion will have his way, Genesis ?Azukal? Servania will need a soft cushion for his head on fight night. The Panamanian ?El Torito? provided a fitting punchline in the form of a pillow during the press conference held Tuesday noon at the Formo Restaurant at the Banilad Town Center.
Concepcion looked cool, confident and sported a glare that would make ordinary men run for cover.
He has a perfectly good reason for his self-belief. More than five years ago he handed the ALA gym and the Filipino boxing nation one of the more memorable and stinging upsets here in the country?s boxing capital.
AJ Banal was a star on the rise and seemed destined for bigger things when Concepcion sent him crashing down in front of a packed Cebu Coliseum.
I was in Zanzibar on that ill-fated night. The shock waves of Banal?s loss reached the Filipino community in East Africa. Now, Concepcion is back and wants a repeat.
?They were shocked before but I think Filipinos will be happy with my victory now, ? Concepcion said, ?My heart is in the Philippines, my heart is for the Filipino people.?
Concepcion (18W-6L-1D, 8 KO's) did acknowledge that Banal was the hardest puncher he faced, and he was on the verge of quitting also at the halfway point in the fight. But his cornermen motivated him, reminding him of his sick child at home and that made the animal inside him come out.
More important than the WBO Intercontinental title, this fight is about repeat or revenge.
?They will have to kill me to beat me,? Concepcion emphasized, ?Servania has not faced a fighter like me. I can knock him out in any round, I will knock his head off.?
Concepcion?s trainer Rigoberto Garibaldi is confident about his boxer?s conditioning. He was not here in 2008 because he was also training Ricardo Mayorga. Garibaldi is familiar with Filipino boxers like Flash Elorde, Erbito Salavarria and Luisito Espinosa.
Garibaldi expressed his sympathies towards the earthquake victims here in the Visayas. He is an experienced trainer who has also handled former WBA 105 and 108 lb champ Rosendo Alvarez.
Carlos Costa, who is now the Asia editor of notifight.com, was in Concepcion?s corner during that eventful night. He told me during a casual conversation a couple of years ago that ?El Torito was very calm. He even slept hours before the fight. I had to wake him up and told him the van from ALA was there to fetch him and that he was supposed to be fighting.?
Costa, who also contributes articles for philboxing, is also back and served as translator during the press conference.
Five years is a very long time in a boxer?s career. His 2008 victory against Banal at the Cebu Coliseum was his lone moment of glory.
The 31 year old Concepcion went through losses against heavy hitters like Jorge Arce, Nonito Donaire and Fernando Montiel after beating Banal. He said that Donaire was the best boxer that he fought. . Concepcion did win two fights this year in Panama by unanimous decision against Alejandro Corrales and German Lara.
Is he still the man he once was?
The 27 year old Servania (22-0, 8 KO?s) is unbeaten, young and hungry but if Concepcion turns back the clock for one night, fans can expect another epic battle for Pinoy Pride XXII this Saturday at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel.
PHOTOS ? Concepcion with the blue pillow that he said ?Servania will need to sleep on? after he knocks him out.
Below ? TEAM PANAMA - left to right - Carlos Costa, Rafael Concepcion and trainer Rigoberto Garibaldi.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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