Kevin Concepcion ready to step out of Brother's Shadows by Tom Podmore Feb 14th 2008

In life it's often the younger brother or sister that is forever stuck in the older siblings shadow. In Kevin Concepcion's case, however, he is trapped in the eternal darkness of his younger brother's shadow, light-middleweight banger Martin. Now, seventeen months after an impressive debut win over Ben Hudson in Coventry, Kevin hopes to emerge from the dark clouds, continue to rise in the ratings and gain the same sort of recognition his hard-hitting brother was bestowed with three or four years ago. The unbeaten Leicester middleweight tackles bigger Staines-based Pole Mikhail Bamballra, 27, over six-threes on Leicester Sporting Club's second professional show at the Aylestone Leisure Centre on Saturday evening (February 16) and believes he can only get better in the coming months and years. That could prove to be a big worry for Britain's top 20 in the 11st 6lbs and 12st divisions, especially as laid-back Concepcion – a former National amateur champion who glides and prowls around the ring with a smile on his face – has looked every inch the top-class prospect in his eight paid outings to date. And recently, on Coventry Sporting Club's show at the Leofric Hotel on December 1, Kevin added the most significant scalp to his record when he battered Leeds' Darren Rhodes (who fought in a British title eliminator against Dudley's Darren McDermott earlier on in the year) to a five-round cut defeat. Rhodes has been in with the best during an exciting ten-year career – Wayne Elcock, Matthew Macklin, Michael Jones, Andrew Facey, Steve Roberts, etc – but didn't have an answer to anything Concepcion asked of him. He was gradually broken down by the ultra-confident but level-headed Leicester stylist and the cut spared him from the inevitable. But with talk of a title fight in the offing for later on in the year, likely to be the Midland Area title at either middle or super-middle, the eldest of the two fighting Concepcion brothers knows he needs to keep on track with a win over 13-fight Bamballra at the weekend. His unblemished ledger, his calmness, skill and the manner in which he has won have seen him touted as one of the country's most exciting up-and-coming prospects. The 27-year-old East Midlander, amazingly, has yet to concede a single round in 44 scheduled sessions. And, to add even more credence to his top prospect claims, he has just put his mark on a three-year deal with London-based promoter Frank Maloney. Maloney has admitted to being impressed with the Midlander when seeing him against former British Masters champion Mark Phillips and the aforementioned Rhodes. “I'm buzzing,” admitted Neil Tomlinson-trained Kevin, 8-0 (2), whose brother was once with the man who masterminded Lennox Lewis's ascent to the undisputed heavyweight crown. “This is great news and shows that I'm being recognised across the country. “It's a step forward for me. Everyone knows Frank is one of the biggest promoters in the country and he can create opportunities and openings for me that others can't. But things aren't going to just happen for me. I've got to keep winning and climbing the rankings. “Last year was all about getting some experience and getting my skills back to where they were a few years ago,” continued a stand-up boxer who turns 28 on February 22. “I was top ten-rated in the UK as an amateur and then I walked away from boxing for five years. I'm starting to find my feet again and i'm getting back to that level of sharpness now.” The five-fight Leicester Sporting Club bill at the Aylestone Leisure Centre also includes the Leicester twosome of Lester Walsh, 0-1 (0), and Rasham Singh-Sohi, 1-0 (0). Oakham lightweight Carl Griffiths, 2-2 (1), and Derby light-heavy Matthew Hainy, 1-0 (0), will also see action on the card. A limited amount of tickets are still available from Les Allen on 07980-313414.

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