Top Rank Inks Bernabe Concepcion!

Wednesday, November 22 2006


Top Rank has signed hot prospect Bernabe Concepcion, 18, of the Philippines to a promotional contract. Concepcion, 19-1-1 with 10 knockouts, won the WBC Youth Super Bantamweight Championship this past weekend on the Pacquiao v Morales III championship event.

The bout was for a meaningless belt (the WBC World Youth super bantamweight) but the two men put on a show worthy enough to kick off what is the mega fight between Erik Morales/Manny Pacquiao III.

After several rounds of only moderate action, the tiny giants finally kicked things into high gear, entertaining the still-filling Thomas and Mack Center arena.

Concepcion dropped his foe with a short, compact left hook midway through the opening round and it seemed as though the Filipino pugilist was going to end things rather abruptly. However, the tough hombre from Ensenada, Mexico, was able to battle back and keep the fight relatively close throughout, lasting through the allotted ten rounds.

In the end, it was Concepcion's tenacity and late body assault that paved the way toward victory as he was able to secure the win via unanimous decision.

The official scores heavily favored the native of the Philippines, 96-93 (twice) and 98-92. Fightnews.com also favored Concepcion but by the wider margin of 98-91, though the fight was much more competitive and closer than the scores would suggest.

Concepcion, who improved his professional ledger to 19-1-1 (10 KOs), is hoping to eventually make some waves in the talent-rich 122-pound division and a win over a highly-touted prospect such as Hernandez will only help.

Concepcion still needs some work, obviously, before he starts tackling the elite of his weight class, but he definitely has some potential. As for Hernandez, his game effort wasn't enough and he suffered the first loss of his pro career; he now stands at 11-1 (6 KOs).

"Our matchmakers really, really like Concepcion and we are thrilled he is on the Top Rank team," said Bob Arum.