Abe v. JuanMa: My Analysis

The fight is on. The Filipino pugilist Abe "The Real Deal" Concepcion will face his toughest opponent in his career. Juan Manuel Lopez is the heir to the throne of Miguel of Miguel Cotto as the King of Puerto Rican boxing. This is a difficult fight for Abe and here are some points to consider.

1. JuanMa is bigger and has power - We saw how dominant JuanMa was during his fights against Ponce De Leon and Gerry Penalosa. In this fight against Concepcion, he will enjoy a height and reach advantage. The burden of Abe is to show than he can take JuanMa's power and overcome the hooks and jabs.
2. Abe is slightly faster - I like Abe's foot speed. I also believe that he owns a slight speed advantage over JuanMa. What Abe needs to do is to move in and out and use effective head movement to avert the dangerous bombs of Lopez. He has to get his timing and balance early because JuanMa can capitalize on just one major mistake.
3. JuanMa will fight in his own country - This is a big advantage. Aside from the fact that he is the champion, he will fght in front of his countrymen. Abe has the onus of taking the fight to Lopez and try his best to go for the kill. Merely outboxing JuanMa will not do because Abe can still lose via a hometown decision.

As for my prediction, I am giving Abe 40% chances of taking the title. JuanMa is physically and statistically favored. Nevertheless, the beauty in boxing is that one punch can change everything. Upsets are always possible. Abe has power but I don't know if it is sufficient to put JuanMa's ass in the canvass. We will see tomorrow.