Lopez, Donaire Take Care of Business in Puerto Rico
It might have only lasted two rounds, but Juan Manuel Lopez’s WBO featherweight title victory over Bernabe Concepcion was certainly worth the price of admission. Lopez might have stopped Concepcion in the second round but he had to come off the deck to do it. The wild encounter in San Juan, Puerto Rico had four knockdowns in less than two rounds before Lopez (29-0, 26 KOs) kept his perfect record alive by forcing a stoppage against Concepcion (28-4-1, 15 KOs).
Lopez came in as the heavy favourite against Concepcion, having claimed the featherweight title in January after stopping Steven Luevano in the seventh round. There was certainly a lot at stake for Lopez as the winner of the fight was virtually locked into a PPV fight in Las Vegas on September 18 against Rafael Marquez. For Lopez, a shot at Marquez would be the payday for five years of undefeated boxing including an 18-month reign as WBO super bantamweight champion that ended when he moved up to featherweight.
However, many people thought that Lopez might be in trouble against Concepcion, a tough and gritty Filipino fighter who had fought for a world title before. One of those people who thought that Concepcion had a strong chance was Manny Pacquaio, who acted as a mentor for Concepcion and tried to counsel him on not going for one big punch and trying to find space to land telling blows.
Early in the first round, it looked like it would be a short and simple night for Lopez in front of his hometown fans. He hurt Concepcion within the first minute and dropped him midway through the round. Lopez went for the kill for the rest of the round and battered Concepcion but did not drop him. Lopez might have been too aggressive for his own good as Concepcion was able to catch him with a counter left with seconds left to send Lopez to the canvas.
The one-minute break between rounds appeared to be enough to help Lopez clear his head – and get his emotions under control. He fought with more controlled aggression in the second round and was able to shoot in a straight left early in the round that would floor Concepcion again. Lopez would not give Concepcion another opportunity to come back, finishing him off with a flurry to hand Concepcion the first knockout loss of his career.
For Lopez, it was the type of action-packed victory which has made him a fan favourite. It’s also his second performance in his last three fights where he’s seemed vulnerable, having barely warded off an upset bid from Rogers Mtagwa in his last super bantamweight title defence in October 2009. He’s still seemingly disinterested in boxing when he can brawl instead, which augers well for an exciting fight with the similarly-minded Marquez (39-5, 34 KOs).
The other big fight on the undercard wasn’t nearly as exciting as Nonito Donaire (24-1, 16 KOs) defended his interim WBA super flyweight title with an incredibly easy victory over Hernan Marquez (27-2, 20 KOs). Most observers felt that Marquez was not a worthy opponent for Donaire, widely considered to be one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. They were not proven wrong as Donaire toyed with Marquez before the fight was stopped in the eighth round.
The naturally-orthodox Donaire decided to fight the first four rounds as a southpaw, apparently just to prove that he could. Even with the handicap, he was able to control the overmatched Marquez. Things just went from bad to worse for Marquez once Donaire decided to stop playing around and revert to an orthodox stance in the fifth round. Marquez was dropped in the fifth round and again in the eighth before the fight was stopped. Clearly, Donaire needs competition stronger than Marquez. With Eric Morel pulling out of his planned fight against Fernando Montiel, it’s possible that a Donaire vs. Montiel fight could be on the cards.
Tags: