Donaire VS Concepcion

Breaking Down the Donaire vs Concepcion Fight
By Allan Tolentino

On August 15th Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire (win 21 (KO 14) - lost 1 - draw 0) current IBF and IBO flyweight champion will square off against Rafael “El Torito” Concepcion (win 13 (KO 8) –lost 3 – draw 1) former WBA interim superflyweight champion, in what was billed as PINOY POWER2. Without further ado, let’s look at each fighter closely by examining their previous fights.

When the name Rafael Concepcion's name is brought up, it reminds me of the gutsy guy who won over AJ “Bazooka” Banal, and the fighter who gave Jorge “El Travieso” Arce one tough fight. Too bad I wasn't able to find any videos of Concepcion's last two fight werein he won against
Emerson Nisperusa via 2nd round TKO and against Kermin Guardia via 8-round unanimous decision. Concepcion is a slugger that keeps going forward, swinging and winging those left hooks, and looping right punches. He likes to fight on the inside, banging the body regularly and will keep throwing those clubbing punches to the head. You will rarely see Concepcion throw straight left jabs or right straights. And I’ve never seen Concepcion fight from the outside.

When Rafael fought AJ Banal, Banal lost that fight mainly because of Banal’s doing. Banal just let Concepcion come to him and allowed to get hit to the body ever since the early rounds. It may not have an effect during the early stages of the fight, but any fight fan knows an accumulation of hits to the body will soon wear any fighter down. And that’s exactly what happened. By the 10th round, AJ Banal’s legs looks like made of jelly. As credit to Rafael Concepcion, he kept coming forward, relentless in his attacks. He kept punching and pounding eventhough he gets hit on a regular basis. Concepcion’s punch to Banal’s temple was just icing on the cake of Banal’s own destruction. Banal took a knee and shook his head gesturing that he resigned from the fight.

In the Arce fight against Concepcion, Rafael was actually winning the fight in the early stages of that encounter. He was hitting Arce with those wild left hooks and right hands. And I’ve seen Jorge Arce get rocked numerous times when Rafael Concepcion was able to hit him. From a fight fans’ point of view, Rafael seems to put his full weight in his punches to put more power into his strikes. Those kinds of punches coming from Concepcion are what staggered Arce during the initial stanzas of their fight. Though they look heavy, they don’t seem to “sting” Arce. Some guys can throw flickering punches that doesn’t look that heavy, yet can sting their opponents and knock them out (think Muhammad Ali and Manny Pacquiao). Some guys, like Concepcion, would hit their opponents with heavy punches, yet the effect would be like “clubbing and pushing” kind of hits. Although Arce got rocked and staggered on numerous occasions in that fight, he was never really in trouble and was able to shake those hits off. Although Arce did got hit, Jorge Arce showed that he has more defensive skills than Concepcion and was able to duck, slip and counter many of Rafael’s punches. Rafael Concepcion was eating all those left hooks and right
straights Arce was throwing at him. I didn’t see any defense whatsoever displayed by Concepcion in that fight. No head and body movements, no bobbing and weaving, no parrying and blocking, no slipping and no quick footwork, nadda! He just kept coming forward receiving Jorge Arce’s punches just to deliver punishment coming from his side. He tries to make his offense his best defense. And he just goes backwards when he is taking punishments. Rafael Concepcion threw power shots after power shots in that fight, that’s why he was winning up to the round 6. By the 7th round, Rafael Concepcion seemed to be punched out. He was panting,
breathing from his mouth, holding and trying to move away. This prompted Arce to step up his attack that made Concepcion’s eyes swell and shut. By the end of round 9, the fight had to be stopped because Concepcion cannot see from his swollen eyes.

How well will Rafael Concepcion do against a counter-puncher in the character of Nonito Donaire? Let’s take a look at Donaire closely.

On the other hand, Nonito Donaire gained prominence when he knocked out the previously undefeated slugger in the form of Vic Darchinyan to win the IBF and IBO flyweight titles. And in his next 3 fights after that was nothing short of impressive. His counter-punching style is reminds me of Juan Manuel Marquez with a certain “Pinoy flavor”.

Nonito dominated Luis Maldonado from the beginning of their fight using his ring smarts, accurate counter-punching and effective footwork. He punished Maldonado, causing cuts above Luis' both eyes. Donaire dropped Maldonado in the 7th round of the fight with a wicked looping left hook. In round 8, Nonito kept pounding Maldonado and the referee called a halt to the fight.

In the Mthalane fight, proved to be a tougher fight for Nonito. Moruti Mthalane was a game fighter who keeps coming forward. Again, Nonito showed superior defensive skills and counter-punching. In round 6, Nonito hit Mthalane with a perfectly timed left hook that connected to the eye which caused a deep cut. Later on, the cut was examined by the ring physician and called a halt to the fight.

Raul Martinez was undefeated when he fought Nonito Donaire. Yet again, Nonito Donaire displayed brilliant counter-punching skills, with accuracy and power. Donaire knocked out Martinez in only 4rounds of their fight.

How will the fight goes down this weekend between Nonito Donaire vs Rafael Concepcion?

This shall be Rafael Concepcion's chance to show the world that he is a contender in the sport. He will be the hungrier fighter in this encounter. But if styles make fights, Rafael Concepcion's style is tailor fit for Nonito Donaire. Seeing Rafael get hit regularly by those left hooks from Banal and Arce, Nonito's single left hook can knock out a "Raging Bull"! Nonito's punches are text book execution. The power comes from firm stable stance and leg movements, momentum
travels through the hips and torso, then end up with damaging power into the punching fists, delivered in less than a split second. Each one of Nonito's punches both left and right can sting, unlike Rafael's heavy punches that club and push. Nonito will box smartly in this fight and punish Rafael with those left hooks, uppercut and shots to the body. I don't see this fight going the full distance. Early to mid rounds KO win by Donaire.

***
Can't wait to watch this fight.
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Tough Pacquiao-Cotto Fight

ONE of boxing’s legendary trainers sees a tough fight between pound-for-pound king Manny ‘PacMan’ Pacquiao and World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Miguel Cotto.

In an interview with eastsideboxing.com, Emmanuel “Manny” Steward said it’s unfair to give the Filipino boxing icon a clear edge over Cotto when they square off on November 14 in Las Vegas.

While Cotto was not impressive in his last fight against challenger Joshua Clottey, Steward said the latter is actually a tough fighter who could have given welterweight legends Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard a rough time in the ring.

“Based on Miguel having such a tough fight there [against Clottey] and Manny looking like a million dollars knocking out Ricky Hatton and Oscar [dela Hoya], that’s why the odds are totally going out of proportion and I don’t think that’s a fair assessment. I see it [Pacquiao-Cotto] as almost a toss-up fight, myself,” Stewards was quoted as saying.

The legendary trainer said a lot of people are actually underestimating Cotto’s size advantage over the Filipino, explaining that the champion from Puerto Rico is a natural welterweight.

Steward also said Pacquiao is a natural junior lightweight or lightweight, which puts the Filipino boxing icon at a disadvantage over Cotto. The Puerto Rican has been listed at 5’7” while Pacquiao is 5’6”.

However, Pacquiao has won the admiration of Steward, who has trained legendary champions like junior welterweight Aaron Pryor and heavyweights Evander Holyfied and Lennox Lewis, and multi-weight titleholders Hearns and De La Hoya. He presently trains heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

“He [Pacquiao] has the instincts of a fighter, the balance, the timing, the stamina—everything—and it’s just natural. He’s a fighter! If anyone was ever born to be a fighter, it would be a guy like him or [Roberto] Duran, but he’s better because he has great rhythm, and his defense and timing are a lot better than people think,” he said.

COTTO WEAKNESSES

Steward also said that Cotto has weaknesses in defense, which can cause trouble for the Puerto Rican.

“His defense right up the middle—he has absolutely no defense for that, because his gloves are so wide, and fighters can punch right between his gloves,” the legendary trainer said.

He said that if Pacquiao is able to penetrate Cotto’s defense and hit the Puerto Rican at will, the Filipino has a chance to win their showdown.

“I think he [Cotto] should not fight with his defense being the way it has been before,” Steward said.

The Pacquiao-Cotto fight has been pegged at a catch weight of 145 pounds, or two below the welterweight limit. Freddie Roach, the Filipino’s trainer, would not allow his fighter to battle Cotto at 147 pounds because the Puerto Rican would have a big weight and size advantage on fight night.

“Freddie knows that Manny is really not a true welterweight, and that’s why he’s [Freddie] trying to at least get some kind of equilibrium in those fights by making the opponents come down in weight as close to Manny as they can for balance,” Steward said.
-- Conrad Carino
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Can't wait to see this big fight.

Pacman VS Cotto

Pacquiao VS Cotto

Cotto’s title on the line vs Pacquiao
By NICK GIONGCO

The World Boxing Organization (WBO) removed one of Manny Pacquiao’s concerns when it announced Sunday that Miguel Cotto will defend his welterweight crown in a catch weight of 145 lbs — and not 147 lbs — against the Filipino boxing icon.

WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel told the Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia that (the fight) it’s going to be for the (WBO) title” and that everything will come to a “happy ending” for both parties.

Pacquiao lawyer Franklin Gacal said he had spoken with Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum also yesterday, assuring him that the fight will be at 145 lbs and that Cotto’s WBO throne will be on the line in the super showdown penciled at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Cotto had insisted a few days back that if Pacquiao wants to go after the WBO crown, the fight will have to be at 147 lbs.

Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said fighting Cotto in a non-title bout is almost without value.

Now that it appears that a major stumbling block has been cleared, next up for discussion would be the crucial choice of finding a new training camp for Pacquiao, who has been advised by the Harvard-educated lawyer to set up the first half of his training camp outside US territory owing to an IRS regulation called the Substantial Presence Test.

Arum, whose promotional outfit Top Rank is staging the megabuck fight, will embark on a huge promotional tour of four cities in September, kicking off with the lead event at Yankee Stadium in New York on Sept. 10.

The next stops will be in Cotto’s hometown of Caguas in Puerto Rico on Sept. 12, AT&T Park in San Francisco on Sept. 13 and Beverly Hills in Los Angeles on Sept. 14.

Then, the two will head to their respective training camps with Cotto going to Tampa, Florida, and Pacquiao in the Bahamas, Canada, Mexico or the Philippines.

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