Concepcion blitzes Kaovichit; Jones stops Brudov on cuts

In Arena Roberto Duran in Panama City, Luis Concepcion completely stomped former titlist Denkaosan Kaovichit to retain his interim flyweight title.  The official time of the knockout was 1:31 of the first round.

Concepcion came out aggressive from the start, landing a huge uppercut that made Kaovichit fly back into the ropes and fall down for a knockdown. After Kaovichit was up, Concepcion didn't take his foot off the gas pedal, completely overwhelming a stunned Kaovichit, causing his gloves to touch during a swarming combination.  Even with an additional ten seconds to recover, Kaovichit remained out of sorts. Concepcion jumped all over him, knocking him out for the count. A minute and a half and three knockdowns after the bout started, it was already over.

Concepcion remains the mandatory to face Daiki Kameda, a fight which Kameda would be wise to avoid for as long as possible. Kameda is reported to be considering moving up in weight, and with this fight looming, it might be a good time for him to do so.  From what I've seen in his last few fights, Concepcion may well be the best flyweight in the world right now.  He's almost certainly the most exciting.

In the main supporting bout of the undercard, Guillermo Jones scored an 11th round technical knockout of Valery Brudov to retain his cruiserweight title.  Jones looked relatively sharp (albeit out of shape) considering he'd had a two year layoff, although it did take him several rounds to get into a groove.  Brudov had a significant speed advantage, but Jones was much bigger and stronger and was able to put together power punches in combinations.  Through the fight, he targeted Brudov's left eye, and with a likely significant lead, referee Luis Pabon stopped the fight in the 11th as the accumulated cuts surrounded most of Brudov's eye. 

Also on the undercard:

• Irving Berry defeated Feider Viloria by a wide ten-round unanimous decision.  While he doesn't have major power, Berry looks like he could be the real deal, with very good handspeed and combination punching, and a style somewhat similar to Juan Manuel Lopez.  He picked up a regional WBA featherweight title, so he joins the WBA's featherweight mix, which features most of the top fighters in the division.
• Nilson Tapia defeated former title challenger Jorge Sebastian Heiland by unanimous decision.  The decision was much wider than it should have been (and roundly booed by the home crowd), and it was a horribly sloppy fight.  Tapia looks sort of like a poor man's Giovanni Lorenzo.  Heiland has had tough luck his last two times out, arguably beating both Tapia this fight and Sebastian Zbik his last time out, but losing both by wide decision in his opponent's backyard.
  
• Hasim Rahman scored a first round knockout of Marcus McGee.  Also winning on the stacked undercard - Timur Ibragimov, Francisco Palacios, Alexander Munoz, Brad Solomon and Ameth Diaz.
• In other results around the globe, Andy Lee scored a fourth round stoppage over Troy Lowry; Samuel Miller scored a career-best win, knocking out Isaac Rodrigues; Joe Spina knocked out Antwun Echols in the third round; and Vladine Biosse remained undefeated with a unanimous decision over Ariel Espinal.