David Sanchez-Luis Concepcion: Pre-Fight Report Card

by Cliff Rold

It will be fun while it lasts.

Any fight can go the distance. Some fights just look less likely than others. This is one of them. Coming in roughly two pound lighter than he did for a failed title challenge earlier this year, former Flyweight titlist Luis Concepcion may be approaching this as the last big chance he has.

He might be right.

While this is only sort of a title fight this weekend (David Sanchez is the interim WBA beltholder at 115 lbs.), the significance is clear. Win and Concepcion is in the title picture at a second weight class. The big hitting Panamanian must win. (BeIn Sports Espanol, 11 PM EST/8 PM PST)

So must Sanchez. The exciting young Mexican is starting to look like a player at a reloading Jr. Bantamweight class. Meandering along since Vic Darchinyan moved up to Bantamweight to end one of the division’s best eras, 115 lbs. is on the upswing.

The presence of ingénue Naoya Inoue, the undefeated Cuadras, and the solid (if forgettable in his last outing) McJoe Arroyo make this a class with possibilities. Win and Sanchez becomes a bigger factor in that potential.  

Let’s go to the report card.

David Sanchez

Titles/Previous Titles:

None (Defending an interim belt)

Age:

23

Height:

5’4

Weight:

114.75 lbs.

Hails from:

Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico

Record:

28-2-2, 23 KO

Rankings:

#6 (BoxingScene, BoxRec), #9 (TBRB, Ring), #10 (ESPN)

Record in Major Title Fights:

0-0 (2-0, 1 KO including interim title fights)

Current/Former World Champions Faced:

1 (Juan Alberto Rosas TKO10)

Vs.

Luis Concepcion

Age:

29

Title:

None

Previous Titles:

WBA Flyweight (2010-11)

Height:

5’2

Weight:

112.75 lbs.

Hails from:

Panama City, Panama

Record:

32-4, 23 KO, 2 KOBY

Rankings:

Unrated

Record in Major Title Fights:

0-3, 3 KOBY (4-3, 4 KO, 2 KOBY including interim title fights) 

Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced:

6 (Noel Arambulet KO1; Roberto Leyva KO4; Eric Ortiz TKO4; Denkaosan Kaovitchit TKO1; Hernan Marquez TKO11, TKO1; Carlos Cuadras L12)

Intangibles: Sanchez B+; Concepcion B

If nothing else, Concepcion may one day be recalled as part of a genesis. If the currently hot Flyweight division has a single date that can be recalled as its beginning, April 2, 2011 is it. That was the night Concepcion and Tyson Marquez engaged in what Yahoo would name its Fight of the Year. Both down in the first, Concepcion would also fall in the third and tenth rounds. Kevin Iole, in explaining its selection, wrote, “Watching the fight live, it was almost too good to be true: It was so action-packed, it seemed like it was from a badly scripted movie.”

As 2011 progressed, Brian Viloria and Giovani Segura would join the class, and in the following years so would Juan Francisco Estrada, Akira Yaegashi, and current kingpin Roman Gonzalez. A case can be made that, in 2015, we are living in the best Flyweight era (112 lbs. proper) since the 1970s.

Marquez-Concepcion I was the first classic of the wave. It was also arguably the last time Concepcion has been that good. He was felled in one round of the rematch and matched carefully on the way to his shot at Cuadras earlier this year. There were positives in that loss to consider before this fight.

Early on, Concepcion showed decent head movement and was able to throw punches all night. His power didn’t trouble Cuadras much but he didn’t let the free-swinging Concepcion tee off either. Cuadras fought a good, fundamentally sound fight, jabbing and swelling the eyes of Concepcion.

So far, Sanchez doesn’t appear the same quality of boxer as Cuadras. Sanchez jabs and moves but often sits in the trenches, resting and winging. He gets hit plenty but he also carries a wallop. While his opposition is only recently rising, his stoppage of Juan Alberto Rosas earlier this year was impressive. Rosas had faced a who’s who over the years and never been stopped.

Sanchez pulled it off. Only 23, with both losses by decision as a teenager, he may just be coming into his own. Could this be a case of ships passing?       

The smart pick would be to say yes. Concepcion has enough power to hurt anyone but his form, particularly the way he hold his hands low, could make him a sitting duck for a Sanchez who keeps his hands up more often. There should be real fireworks early and Sanchez is going to engage. As the fight wears on, the younger man will impose his will and show the killer instinct that is going to make him a bigger fan favorite in the next few years.

112 will only be hot for so long. Eventually, their best will be hunting game three pounds higher. Sanchez will be one of an increasingly interesting field waiting for them.

Report Card and Staff Picks 2015: 71-18

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at