By Jake Donovan
Unified titlist Fernando Montiel continues to plead his case as the best bantamweight on the planet, dominating late replacement Rafael Concepcion en route to a stoppage at 1:07 of the third round Saturday evening at Palenque de la Feria in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico.
Both fighters weighed in at the divisional limit of 118 lb.
for the main event, which aired live on Fox Sports Espanol.
The bout was Montiel’s first since traveling to Japan less than three months ago to score a shocking upset over Hozumi Hasegawa. The win earned Montiel the distinction of becoming the division’s first unified champion since the title became splintered more than three decades ago.
Fighting in his native Mexico, Montiel’s first defense of the unified titles was to come against mandatory challenger Eric Morel. That fight fell apart when Morel pulled up lame, claiming an injured leg in abruptly pulling out of the bout earlier this month.
In came Concepcion, whom Top Rank had scheduled to appear on the card in the event that Morel would find a way to back out of the fight.
What resulted was a rout, not that Montiel’s countryman in attendance seemed to mind, wildly cheering every punch thrown by one of the very best to come out of the boxing rich town of Los Mochis, Mexico.
The first round was relatively tame, with Montiel boxing smartly while Concepcion did his best to rough up the defending titlist. Things quickly picked up in the second, with Montiel coming right out of the box to drop Concepcion with a compact left hook.
From there, the party was just getting started for Montiel, who scored a second knockdown with the same exact punch a minute later. Concepcion once again beat the count, but was pretty much done in terms of trying to fight competitively. Referee Robert Byrd had to twice warn the Panamanian for excessive holding before taking a point towards the end of the round.
The roughhouse tactics had no effect whatsoever on Montiel, who fought like a man with the finish line well within his sights. The crowd was treated to a boxing clinic for as long as the third round lasted, which wasn’t very long at all.
Montiel used every inch of the ring, offering side-to-side movement to frustrate Concepcion before working his way inside to eventually finish him off. A perfectly timed overhand right flattened Concepcion, prompting Byrd to move in and wave off the bout without offering a count.
The call went without a protest from Concepcion, who remained flat on his back – though conscious – for several minutes after the fight while being attended to by ringside physicians.
In the opposite corner, Montiel mounted a turnbuckle to salute his countryman in attendance in celebrating what is now an 11-fight unbeaten streak as he improves overall to 43-2-2 (33KO).
Concepcion heads home to Panama City having now lost two of his last three as he falls to 14-5-1 (8KO). The other loss over that stretch came against the very man who is rumored to serve as Montiel’s next challenge – pound-for-pound entrant Nonito Donaire.
American cable giant Showtime is rumored to be very interested in purchasing the fight for its fall schedule. A few venues have been suggested, though nothing yet solidified for a matchup would serve as the type of super fight so sorely lacking below 122 lb. these days.
Wherever the fight takes place, Montiel will enter the fight at the hottest point of his 14-year career and was able to deliver a far more satisfying performance on Saturday night than was the case the last time he appeared before his countryman.
Saturday’s bout was Montiel’s first since his disastrous knockout loss-turned-technical-draw last September against Alejandro Valdez. Montiel has since come back strong to win three straight, all by knockout and none lasting beyond the fourth round.
The first knockout of that streak came earlier this year in Las Vegas, when Montiel iced Ciso Morales in one round on a show that was topped by Donaire looking equally impressive in stopping Manuel Vargas in three rounds.
It was then when the foundation was laid for a potential collision course somewhere down the road. Donaire flew the banner again last week shortly after taking care of business against Hernan “Tyson” Marquez on Showtime.
The bout was believed to be Donaire’s last at the 115 lb. limit, as he struggled to make weight and fully embraces the invitation to move up to the bantamweight division.
Anxiously awaiting him is Montiel, who continues to add distance between himself and the rest of the best bantamweights in the world.
TELEVISED UNDERCARD
Fringe junior middleweight contender Michael Medina overcame a rocky opening round to stop Gilberto Flores at 1:49 of the fourth round.
Though brought in as the opponent, Flores wasted no time in taking his shot at the upset. The Mexican southpaw flew out of his corner with a barrage of punches to begin the fight, to which Medina momentarily struggled to adapt.
Medina sought to gain control in the second, only to draw a warning for pushing down on the back of Flores’ head as he inadvertently shoved his countryman to the canvas. He settled into a groove by the third round, throwing and landing in combination, including a right hand that ejected his opponent’s mouthpiece.
The fight came to a sudden end in the fourth when it seemed like the fun was just beginning. Medina stalked Flores from corner to corner, cutting off the ring and trying to find his range. Flores took advantage of the lack of incoming, letting loose with a left uppercut at center ring to let the crowd know he was still very much in the fight.
That was, until, he got cracked with an uppercut in return from Medina, who capitalized on the momentum shift. A barrage of punches ensued, convincing the third man to step in and intervene.
Medina improves to 24-2-2 (19KO), returning to the win column after dropping a competitive split decision to John Duddy four months ago at Cowboys Stadium. His only other loss came two years ago against rising junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan.
Flores falls to 14-5 (9KO) with the loss, snapping a modest three-fight win streak.
With time to kill in the broadcast, undefeated super bantamweight prospect Ramon Maas received unexpected screen time. It was hardly the finest moment for the diminutive southpaw, who struggled to a four-round split decision win over countryman Carlos Penalosa.
Scores were not announced, other than to say that it was a split decision in favor of Maas.
Maas never seemed to find his rhythm in the bout, though perhaps attributable to the fact that he long ago graduated to ten-round fights, whereas this bout was only scheduled for four. Whatever the case, Penalosa went for broke, serving as the aggressor for much of the contest.
Realizing that boxing alone wasn’t going to get the job done, Maas dug in and willingly traded with his journeyman opponent, ultimately proving to be the difference between remaining undefeated and suffering an embarrassing loss.
The close call advances Maas to 21-0 (13KO), though his efforts were met with a chorus of boos once the final decision was cryptically announced.
Penalosa gets an A for effort, but an L as far as the record books show. He has now lost eight straight and 10 of his last 11 contests as he falls to 5-11-1 (3KO).
The show was presented by Top Rank Inc.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
