NEWARK, N.J. – Hebert Conceicao kept his undefeated record intact Friday, but he had to get off the canvas to do it.
A 2020 Olympic gold medalist from Brazil, Conceicao boxed his way to a unanimous decision over former title challenger Johan Gonzalez, winning the 10-round middleweight fight at Prudential Center by the scores of 96-93 on two cards and 95-94 on the third.
The win, which came in a ProBox main event, was the third straight by decision for Conceicao, who improved to 11-0 (5 KOs), and his third overall against a former title challenger. Gonzalez, 36-6 (34 KOs), of Valencia, Venezuela, lost his third of his past four fights.
Conceicao boxed smoothly in the first round, landing hooks to the head and body in combination while pivoting away from Gonzalez’s offensive lunges, shoulder rolling Gonzalez’s right hands and landing his own rights.
If it was looking too easy for Conceicao early on, that impression changed in the third when Gonzalez timed one of Conceicao’s shoulder rolls, getting him to turn into a right hand, the Brazilian going to the canvas for the first time as a pro. Conceicao, though swollen under his left eye, tried to feign confidence as he smiled and looked to land counters on the aggressive Gonzalez.
Conceicao rebounded well in the fourth, returning to his boxing approach and scoring points, though Gonzalez was narrowly missing with the same right hand that had scored the knockdown earlier. The primary weapon for Conceicao was his jab, which scored consistently through the middle rounds and kept Gonzalez from getting set to land his power shots.
Conceicao reasserted dominance in the fight in the seventh, as his control of distance and shorter punches connected with the increasingly one-dimensional Gonzalez, whose whole approach was to look for another big overhand right. Conceicao continued to box from long range in the eighth and ninth, taking advantage of Gonzalez’s lack of a jab to outbox his opponent.
With the fight now firmly in his control, Conceicao had fun in the 10th, doubling and tripling his jab while smiling and countering before dancing out of range.
Conceicao is ranked No. 15 by the WBO at 160lbs.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
