It certainly started like a Fight of the Year candidate, this flyweight brawl Saturday between Hernan “Tyson” Marquez and Luis “El Nica” Concepcion, with traded knockdowns and startling shifts in momentum. But after the 4th round, Marquez took firm control and Concepcion’s belief in the superiority of his own power faded, rendering him more tactical and less interested in swapping punches one-for-one. Just after he rallied in the 10th, though, Concepcion was not allowed to continue by the doctor and referee. Too bad — it was getting interesting again.
My verdict: It’s a candidate for Fight of the Year, but probably won’t take the title by the end of 2011. If it could have kept up its early momentum, it would be a different story. But it’s worth watching for the first four rounds alone.
Good for Marquez, too. He lost a one-sided junior bantamweight fight against Nonito Donaire last year, with Donaire so bored by his run of lackluster opposition that he fought in a southpaw stance for a long stretch. Here, at a better size for Marquez, his counter right hand couldn’t miss and did tons of damage, especially because Concepcion dropped his hands after every single punch he threw. Concepcion fought a sloppy fight, to say the least, but he was the #2 man in the division according to Ring Magazine, so this win is a huge upset for Marquez.
As always, these clips remain up as long as YouTube allows them to stay. (The conclusion of the fight, which I was unable to embed below, is here.)
