Fast and furious Filipino Flash's past and future clash this Saturday as Montiel faces Concepcion

July 16, 2010 - Nonito Donaire Jr.'s past and future comes full circle Saturday night, July 17 at the Palenque de la Feria en Tuxtla Guittierez, Chiapas, Mexico when five-time world champion Fernando "Cochulito" Montiel defends his WBC bantamweight belt against Rafael "Torito" Concepcion.

Barring an upset, Donaire is set to face Montiel in November according to Bob Arum who promotes both fighters. 

Concepcion, whom Donaire defeated in an intensely fought 12-round scrap last year in Pinoy Power 2 and is aware that opportunities like this may not come again. "This is my big chance and from the first second I'll go for the victory that could change my life completely," said the Panamanian contender.

A showdown between Donaire and Montiel is definitely the fight boxing fans have been clamoring for. Montiel is fresh from his sensational victory in Japan against Hozumi Hasegawa while Donaire is still untested after his highlight reel KO win over Vic Darchinyan in 2007.

Montiel bio

"Cochulito"

World championship fights: 17-2, 13 KOs...
WBC-WBO bantamweight world champion...
Former two-time WBO jr. bantamweight world champion, eight successful defenses...
Former WBO flyweight world champion, three successful defenses...
At the age of 31, Fernando is a 13-year pro. The WBC and WBO bantamweight world champion, he won the WBO title in March, 2009.

One of Mexico's best fighters, Fernando became only the fourth Mexican to win world titles in three different weight divisions. The others in that elite group are Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

He is also a former two-time WBO jr. bantamweight world champion. He won that title for the first time in June, 2002, and made one successful title defense before losing the title in August, 2003. He regained the title in April, 2005, and made seven more successful title defenses. He vacated the title to move up in weight. Fernando won the WBO flyweight world title December, 2000, and made three successful title defenses.

Fernando won the WBC bantamweight world title in his last fight on April 30 with a fourth-round TKO against defending champion Hozumi Hasegawa in Tokyo.

After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: This fight came together, something of a dream bout for the hardest of hard-core fight freaks. Hasegawa has been one of Japan's finest for several years. Montiel, one of Mexico's best, is a three-division titleholder.... It should be noted that Hasegawa was not going to take Montiel's WBO belt if he had won. The Japanese Boxing Commission does not recognize the WBO, meaning that if Hasegawa won, he would have simply retained his WBC version of the title. But because Montiel won, he unified the 118-pound trinkets.

Hasegawa, a southpaw, had been on quite a run, scoring five knockouts in a row inside four rounds against some credible opponents. Between that fact and his being at home, Hasegawa was the clear favorite. Through the first three-plus rounds, it looked like he'd coast to a win, even though it turned out he had suffered a broken jaw from a Montiel uppercut in the first round. Yet he continued to fight and was faster than Montiel, outboxing him and tagging him with enough shots to hold a lead on all three scorecards, 30-27 on two and 29-28 on the third. However, Montiel landed a hammering left hook to the face with seven seconds left in the fourth round. Hasegawa went reeling into the ropes and Montiel pounced. He landed several more shots, snapping a defenseless Hasegawa's head back. He was out on his feet as American referee Laurence Cole jumped in to stop the fight just as the bell to end the round was ringing. It was a shocking ending and silenced the pro-Hasegawa crowd of about 15,000 at the famed Budokan Hall, while Montiel and his team joyously celebrated. [End Rafael item]

(Click on the link for full article: source: Top Rank.com)

CLICK THE THUMBNAILS TO VIEW PHOTO GALLERY OF THE BEAUTIFUL FACES AT THE 2010 ESPYS