Following a January 11 knockout of Kenyan Sande Otieno, 21-year old Filipino Bernabe Concepcion will move up to the big leagues at 126 pounds to challenge WBO featherweight titlist Steven Luevano on the Hatton-Pacquiao undercard on May 2 in Las Vegas.
Concepcion (28-1-1, 16 KO) has been touted by some as the country's "next Pacquiao," which is overreaching and a tall order for anyone, but he's got a chance to be a hell of a fighter for a long time. His lone loss came very early in his career at 118 pounds, when he was outpointed by journeyman Mark Sales, who last fought in 2006 and has a current record of 14-32-3. Concepcion has fought mostly at or around 122 pounds, but seems settled on featherweight for the time being.
Luevano (36-1-1, 15 KO) is a Pacquiao pay-per-view staple. He has fought on three of the last four Pacquiao PPV events, beating Antonio Davis (Pacquiao-Barrera II) and Terdsak Jandaeng (Marquez-Pacquiao II), and drawing with Mario Santiago (Diaz-Pacquiao). He was last in the ring on the Pavlik-Hopkins undercard, defeating Aussie stinker Billy Dib.
In other featherweight news, Jorge Solis stopped Monty Meza Clay on January 31 in Zapopan, Mexico. The end came in the fifth round, and improved Solis' record to 37-1-2 (27 KO). It also made Solis the top contender for the IBF title, currently held by Cristobal Cruz, who will defend against Cyril Thomas on February 14 in France.