The top bantamweight in the sport was back in action last night as Fernando Montiel defended his WBC and WBO titles by crushing challenger Rafael Concepcion within three rounds at Palenque de la Feria in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapa, Mexico. Montiel, a longtime WBO super flyweight kingpin who started adding bantamweight trinkets to his collection last…
This weekend, I hosted a pay per view telecast headlined by the WBA Interim Super Flyweight title match, featuring Nonito Donaire vs. Rafael Concepcion. Everything that happened in the days before the match and in the first round suggested that Donaire, a rising star and potential superstar, was going to provide a dominant win that…
The world’s top flyweight is now in the running for that same position at super flyweight after Nonito Donaire handled the jump up to 115 pounds by outboxing Rafael Concepcion last night at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas, NV. At stake was the Interim WBA super fly crown, which Concepcion held at one…
IBF light fly kingpin Nonito Donaire heads up to super flyweight tonight at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas, NV, contending for the Interim WBA crown against Panama’s Rafael Concepcion. Donaire, 21-1 (14), is coming off three title defenses of the IBF strap he won by expertly dismantling Aussie bomber Vic Darchinyan two years…
Rafael Concepcion:”I know Las Vegas and I know there will be Latino fans in the arena rooting for me on Saturday night. There will be Mexican fans for sure on my side. I’ve trained hard and I will win. Panama fighters do not lose to Filipinos. We’re 4-0 in title fights.” Nonito Donaire: “I’ve seen…
Super flyweight Nonito Donaire will face Rafael Concepcion for the Interim WBA title on Top Rank’s PPV “Pinoy Power 2” on August 15 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Donaire and Top Rank’s Carl Moretti fielded questions from the press on a recent conference call. Carl Moretti: I think you…
The relationship between mixed martial arts and boxing has had an intriguing evolution in the past decade. The boxing establishment has viewed MMA with equal parts ambivalence, hostility, envy and sometimes grudging respect. The MMA world has sometimes seen boxing as a kindly old uncle that you respect for its past, but snicker a bit…
Former IBF/IBO flyweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash†Donaire, Jr. and WBO featherweight champion Steven Luevano return to the top of the marquee to headline “Pinoy Power 2â€, the world championship extravaganza taking place Saturday, August 15, in The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. “Pinoy Power 2,†Top…
Rafael “El Torito†Concepcion will return to the country of his biggest victory to take on the undefeated Drian Francisco in Manila, Philippines on July 19. Concepcion won the WBA Interim Super Flyweight title last September in Cebu City by upsetting the highly favored, previously undefeated AJ “Bazooka†Banal by spectacular 10th round knockout.
Gleason’s gym re-enters the world of professional boxing promotions on February 3 at the Masonic Temple in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York, after a 20 year hiatus. The celebrated boxing gym located under the Brooklyn bridge in the Dumbo section of Brooklyn, has not been an active player in professional boxing promotions since 1989, when…
Rafael “El Torito“ Concepcion, 12-3, returns to the ring February 3 against former world champion Kermin Guardia, 37-8, in Brooklyn, New York. This will be Concepcion’s second fight back since his enthralling battle with Jorge Arce last September in Mexico and he has his sights firmly set on becoming world champion again.
With just two weeks to go, Panamanian Rafael Concepcion is full of confidence for his first title defence against Jorge Arce in Mexico City on September 15. The interim WBA Super Flyweight title fight takes place on the Eve of Mexico’s Independence Day and will be a major highlight of this year’s fiesta.