MANILA, Philippines - Bernabe Concepcion hopes to buck the odds as he goes up against unbeaten WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez of Puerto Rico in their showdown this Saturday in Puerto Rico.
“I know that I have to be at my best to defeat Lopez and I will be. If people think he looked good at 126 pounds, I will too. There are no secrets here between us, he is coming to fight and so am I. This one will be a war,” Concepcion told fightnews.com during a recent media workout at the Wilfredo Gomez gym in Guaynabo.
Concepcion (28-3-1 with 15 KOs) is now in his final pre-fight preparations. He said he is prepared to go all out against Lopez, one of the sport’s rising stars.
“I am almost there. I will be set to go on Saturday. I have to work very hard to be ready for this fight. (I am) just putting the final touches on my training,” said Concepcion, who trains under Manny Pacquiao’s close friend Buboy Fernandez.
Against Lopez (28-0 with 25 KOs), Concepcion faces a savvy, all-around fighter billed as the next great Puerto Rican fighter after Wilfred Benitez, Felix “Tito” Trinidad and Miguel Cotto. The Puerto Rican southpaw stopped Gerry Peñalosa last year, forcing the Filipino fighter to retire.
Despite Lopez’s reputation and the homecourt advantage, Concepcion remains unfazed.
“It’s going to be a tough fight for both of us. I don’t care that he is home. I come to win and to take belt home that’s why we worked so hard for this fight,” said Concepcion, now on his second title crack after losing via disqualification to Canadian Steven Luevano in August 2009 for the WBO featherweight title.
Lopez knocked out Luevano to wrest the same crown last January.