NEWARK, New Jersey – When Hebert Conceicao signed to fight in Newark, he didn’t realize he’d be performing in front of one of the largest Brazilian communities in the United States. The city is home to roughly 15,000 Brazilians, which is why it made sense for the 28-year-old, a native of Salvador, Brazil, to meet the Brazilian community on Wednesday at Mantena Global Care, a community center that serves the Brazilian population in the city’s Ironbound District.
Conceicao will face former title challenger Johan Gonzalez in a 10-round middleweight fight on Friday at Prudential Center in the main event of a ProBox TV card. Despite being thousands of miles away from home, he already feels like he has home-court advantage.
“It was a surprise to me that there are a lot of Brazilians here in Newark,” said Conceicao, 10-0 (5 KOs), a 2020 Olympic gold medalist. “I need to win, not just for me but also for my fans here in Newark.”
Michael Silva, the city councilman and a Portuguese-American whose district includes Ironbound, underlined what it meant to have a rising star in Brazilian sports performing in Newark.
“Our Brazilian community has been here 40-50 years and many of them are hardworking people, people of faith, people of family. So having the champ here…is a great day for the city of Newark,” said Silva.
Conceicao understands how big this opportunity is for him. His opponent Gonzalez, 36-5 (34 KOs), is a hard-punching Venezuelan who fought for a world title in his most recent bout, losing a unanimous decision to WBA middleweight titleholder Erislandy Lara in December. Prior to that, he had mixed success at the higher levels of the sport, scoring wins over Guido Schramm and former junior middleweight champion Jarrett Hurd, while losing by stoppage to Yoenis Tellez and Jesus Ramos.
“My opponent fought for a world title in his last fight. It’s a big opportunity for me to win against him and be the next challenger,” said Conceicao.
“He’s strong, his record shows this, but he’s stupid in the ring. For me this is good because I’m moving. I’m complete, strong and technical and I move my legs in the ring. He’s a great opponent for me but I’m better.”
Conceicao says he trains hard for each of his opponents, which he says is a sign of respect for them. He is constantly reminded of just how lucky he is to have found the sport that brought him to the world stage.
Conceicao, the only boy of four children born to a mother who was a schoolteacher and a father who worked as a salesman, first gravitated towards Brazil’s national pastime, soccer, but found one snag to his progress. “I was so bad in football,” Conceicao admits, saying he also tried capoeira, jiu jitsu and Muay Thai. It was boxing, however, that proved the most promising. Coming from Salvador, a place where many Brazilian champions had competed, was a blessing for the aspiring boxer, but it also came with hardship.
“It was a very difficult life. My city is a great city but there are different levels for the people. People on the high level and people on the low level, and I am from the bottom,” said Conceicao, who continues to be trained by Luiz Dorea. Conceicao won his first amateur title at age 15, and immediately saw the purpose in his life.
“In Brazil there is a social program in the government for youth athletes. When we medal in national competition, they give big monetary support. I saw the opportunity to not have to work anymore,” said Conceicao. “Now I would get the governor’s support and I don’t need to work anymore. I needed to go to school because of my dad and mom, but it’s just boxing, boxing, boxing every day.”
That mindset led him to Tokyo, where he won three straight split decisions in the Summer Olympics’ 165lbs competition to make it to the final against the number one seed, Oleksandr Khyzhniak. The Ukrainian outworked him for the first two rounds, and appeared on his way to a decision win when Conceicao landed a left hook that dropped Khyzhniak and earned him the knockout victory. It was perhaps the most dramatic comeback in Olympic boxing history since David Reid’s Hail Mary knockout at the ‘96 Games.
“The day that I cried the most is the day that I cried because I was really happy,” said Conceicao of the day he became Brazil’s second ever boxing gold medalist. “The Olympic gold medal felt like a distant reality but I was able to achieve it.”
Now, Conceicao will fight at the building where Robson Conceicao (no relation) - who won the country’s only other Olympic gold - won his world title two years ago, defeating O’Shaquie Foster by split decision to lift the WBC junior lightweight title. Brazil currently doesn’t have any world champions, and hasn’t had a major star in two decades, when Acelino Freitas rose to become one of the sport’s most exciting punchers as he won world titles at 130 and 135lbs.
While Conceicao hasn’t shown one punch knockout power so far, the flashy boxer-puncher has exhibited eye-catching skill and combinations, using his feet to get into position and then mixing in uppercuts and body punches from various angles to impress the judges. He has already established himself as the top middleweight in Brazil, having defeated two former Olympic medalists, Yamaguchi Falcao and Esquiva Falcao, in decision wins.
Conceicao knows he wants to be a world champion; he also knows he wants to be more than just another boxer with a belt.
“The next step of my career depends on my performance on April 10. If I take a victory by knockout or unanimous decision, I will be closer to take my title. I’m focused on this step because this is the most important in my career now,” said Conceicao.
“Brazil has a lot of champions in all sports but in boxing, the last big champion was Acelino. At this moment, there’s nobody. But this is a new moment for boxing in Brazil. I want to be the next champion from Brazil. Not only a champion, but to be the next superstar for boxing in Brazil.”
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.
