by Cliff Rold

A good fight is a good fight no matter where on the scale, or where in the world, it takes place. Wednesday in Japan, fans could be treated to a pretty damn good fight between two genuine top ten fighters at Jr. bantamweight.

In one corner, a titlist with a record that doesn’t give full justice to his steady professionalism. In the other, we have a former titlist who looked like he’d seen his best day before a career saving win one year ago.

The prize is more than just the WBA belt at 115 lbs. Beginning this week, the pieces at Jr. bantamweight start to come together for what could be the division’s most memorable run in a decade. The arrival of Roman Gonzalez in the class, should he defeat Carlos Cuadras in September, shifts the economic scale upwards.

Winning now could mean the pay window later.  

Let’s go to the report card.

The Ledgers

Kohei Kono

?Age: 35

Title: WBA super flyweight (2014-Present, 3 Defenses)

Previous Titles: WBA super flyweight (2012-13)

Height: 5’5 ½

Weight: 115 lbs.?

?Hails from: Tokyo, Japan

Record: 32-8-1, 13 KO

Rankings: #3 (ESPN), #4 (TBRB, Boxing Monthly), #5 (Ring), #6 (BoxingScene, BoxRec)

Record in Major Title Fights: 4-3-1, 2 KO

Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 7 (Nobuo Nashiro L12; Tomas Rojas L12; Yota Sato L10; Tepparith Kokietgym KO4; Liborio Solis L12; Denkaosan Kaovitchit KO8; Koki Kameda UD12)

Vs.

Luis Concepcion

Age: 30

Current Title: None

Previous Titles: WBA flyweight (2011)

Height: 5’2

Weight: 114 ¾ lbs.

Hails from: Panama City, Panama

Record: 34-4, 24 KO, 2 KOBY

Rankings: #4 (BoxingScene, BoxRec), #5 (TBRB, Boxing Monthly), #6 (Ring), #7 (ESPN)

Record in Major Title Fights: 0-3, 2 KOBY (6-3, 5 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; Tyson Marquez TKO by 11, TKO by 1, UD12; Carlos Cuadras L12)

Grades

Pre-Fight: Speed – Kono B; Concepcion B

Pre-Fight: Power – Kono B; Concepcion A-

Pre-Fight: Defense – Kono B-; Concepcion C-

Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Kono B; Concepcion B

For the WBA, if no one else, this will be a unification fight pitting their outright titlist (Kono) against their interim (Concepcion). Long ridiculed for their volume of multi-champion designations across the scale, the WBA’s effort to narrow the scope of an already cluttered title picture is taking form. That’s a good thing.

While this fight won’t air live in the US, US fans have some familiarity with both. Concepcion lost one of the best fights of the decade, his first against Tyson Marquez, in 2011. The fight got considerable buzz amongst the boxing press and drew hundreds of thousands of clicks on YouTube. Kono impressed last year on a PBC broadcast, coming to the US and retiring long time Japanese draw Koki Kameda in a good fight.

Concepcion enters having won 11 of 12 since a rematch loss to Marquez. The lone loss of the bunch isn’t why he’s here. He was outclassed by Cuadras in April 2015 but has rebounded in two wins since. He stopped a streaking David Sanchez to notch himself a contender in the class and finally got a win over Marquez in their third fight last December.

Concepcion, at 5’2, is small even for one of boxing’s smaller classes. He makes up for it with explosive power and aggression that, against many foes, lets him get away with wild technique. He usually starts okay, trying to work behind a jab and blocking the incoming. As fights progress, and the bombs start to fly, he can often leave himself wide open. When he misses bombs, it can mean fatigue. He’s faster earlier.

That doesn’t mean he can’t go rounds. It just means he has to put punishment on his man early to make the road less treacherous as a fight wears on. It could be a problem with Kono. The 35-year old titlist has never been stopped. His durability has been a career plus, his toughness a big reason for his longevity.

Kono’s advantage in this fight, should he avoid getting caught early, is his straight right hand. The taller man is also the more technically sound. If he can figure out the timing of Concepcion’s attacks, he’ll have a chance to turn beating Concepcion to the punch into beating him up.  

The Pick

Can Concepcion dent the chin of Kono? That’s the biggest question here. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where the Panamanian can win a decision. He doesn’t box as well, he isn’t as technically sound, and he doesn’t maintain form as long as Kono does in a long fight. He has to get to the older titlist and stay on him. It’s going to be a hard task. The thinking here is we get a feisty first four or five rounds but Kono eventually takes over. He’s the smarter man in the ring and he’ll be smart enough to pile up points into the second half where he earns the decision or perhaps even a late stoppage. 

 Report Card and Staff Picks 2016: 31-10

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 roldboxing@hotmail.com