Servania, Concepcion declare all-out war

CEBU, Philippines - Seeing each other for the first time, ALA Boxing Gym stalwart Genesis ‘Azucal’ Servania and his Panamian challenger Rafael ‘El Torito’ Concepcion minced no words as they traded sharp verbal jabs to further heat up their WBO Intercontinental super bantamweight title match headlining the ‘Pinoy Pride XXII: The Revenge’ fightcard tomorrow night at the Pacific grand ballroom of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino in Brgy. Lahug, this city.

They still have one more day before they slug it out inside the ring, but tension already flared up between Servania (22-0, 8KOs) and Concepcion (18-6, 8KOs) during the event's final press conference yesterday at the Aegean Room of  Waterfront Hotel.

Hearing Concepcion’s statement that he will be put to sleep during their fight, Servania boldly fired back by saying that it's going to be Concepcion who will be kissing the mat even before their scheduled 12-round bout could end.

“He (Concepcion) is always saying that he will put me to sleep and I am not a strong puncher, but I think he will be eating his own words after the fight,” said the 22-year-old Servania. “I am not affected with the things that he has been saying because I trust in my preparations and he will see come fight how strong I am.”

Servania is seeking to redeem his homeland’s dignity by beating Concepcion, who is responsible for dashing the world title hopes of his stablemate AJ "Bazooka" Banal. Concepcion scored a 10th round knockout win against Banal for the interim WBA super flyweight title before a stunned crowd at the Cebu Coliseum five years ago.

Unfazed by his foe's brazen remarks, Concepcion continued his verbal assault by saying that Servania is not in the same level with his previous opponents and that he will easily dispose the rising ALA star in less than 10 rounds.

“He is an easy opponent. I knocked (AJ) Banal in the 10th round but for Servania, I will give him less than 10 rounds. I am giving him a favor by knocking him out early so he will not take too much punishment during our fight,” Concepcion boldly declared.

In the supporting bout of the slambang card co-presented by ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports, another undefeated ALA ring warrior in ‘King’ Arthur Villanueva (23-0, 13KOs) will  be put to a major test against Mexican Edgar ‘Chololo’ Martinez (16-7, 10KOs) in another 12-rounder for the WBO International super flyweight title.

In another attraction, former IBO bantamweight challenger Roli ‘Zuma’ Gasca (20-4, 5KOs) hopes to rebuild his path to become a world champion as he battles Indonesian warrior Lande Olin (11-4, 7KOs).

In the equally-exciting undercards, two IDOL hopefuls in Mark Vincent 'Machete' Bernaldez (11-0, 7KOs) and Jessel Mark 'Magnifico' Magsayo (3-0, 2KOs) will try to protect their clean records against Thai Khunkhiri Wor Wisaruth (10-5, 5KOs) and Pinoy journeyman Hagibis Quiñones, respectively.

Meanwhile, the official weigh-in of “Pinoy Pride XXII” is set at 11 a.m. today for the first time at the Active Zone of Ayala Center Cebu. (FREEMAN)