Robson Conceicao has traveled the hard road to earn his many accolades.

For his next fight, Conceicao, a three-time Olympian and 2016 Olympic gold medalist, now gets to travel home.

Conceicao, 20-3-1 (10 KOs), is set to return to the ring on April 4 as he will face Venezuela’s Helber Rojas. Their scheduled 10-round junior lightweight contest will headline a Boxing Pro Combat event from Shopping Conjunto Nacional in Brasilia, Brazil.

The former WBC 130lbs titlist is coming off a disappointing one-fight campaign – a sixth-round knockout of Yonnaiquer Rondon in August. The bout was his first since he lost to O’Shaquie Foster in November 2024 to end his brief title reign. The setback came just four months after he defeated the American in an upset, albeit a controversial one.

Conceicao signed with Top Rank straight out of the Olympics after his gold medal haul. He turned professional on the Manny Pacquiao-Jessie Vargas undercard and was moved to a major title shot by 2021. 

He was unsuccessful in his first bid, as he dropped a September 2021 decision to then-WBC 130lbs titlist Oscar Valdez. The outcome was debatable, though not as much as the pre-fight build-up, when Valdez tested positive for a banned substance.

Conceicao was left in the uncomfortable position of having to ride out the process – it wasn’t like he was able to just walk away from the fight, if everyone else insisted that it was moving forward.

Roughly one year later, Conceicao landed his second shot at a major title. It came against one of the best in the world in Shakur Stevenson, the unified WBC-WBO champ at the time. 

However, only Conceicao was eligible to bid for the belts after Stevenson badly blew weight. The titles remained vacant after Stevenson widely outpointed Conceicao.

The third time was nearly a charm for Conceicao, who had to settle for a November 2023 draw with Emanuel Navarrete for the WBO 130lbs strap.

Then there were his two fights with Foster, the current WBC titleholder and just the one rust-shaker that followed.

“It is not easy being Robson Conceicao,” Conceicao told BoxingScene via translator. “But all of this shows me that I have to keep pushing, keep believing, and keep moving toward my goals.”

His only losses have come in title fights, in which he is 1-3-1. At 37 years old, Conceicao wants to show he still belongs at the top of the sport. 

“My goal is clear,” Conceicao said. “[It is] to fight for the world title again, prove that I still belong at the highest level, and reclaim that belt.”

Conceicao and his team are clear that they are targeting all the titleholders in the division – a trilogy with Foster, a rematch with Navarrete or a bout with newly crowned WBA junior lightweight titleholder Anthony Cacace.

“Above all, my biggest motivation is my daughters,” Conceicao said. “I promised Sophia I would become an Olympic champion, and I fulfilled that promise. I promised Ster I would become a world champion, and I fulfilled that as well.”

Rojas, 26-13-2 (22 KOs), might not fit the mold of a future title contender, but he is a veteran who can help Conceicao. A 32-year-old from Caucagua, Venezuela, Rojas is coming off a December unanimous decision over Luis Rivas. It snapped a two-fight losing streak, where he was stopped in consecutive fights. 

“Now, every time I step into the ring, I carry those promises with me, along with my story and everything I still want to achieve. I still have a lot to accomplish in boxing.”

Despite accomplishing both of his promises, Conceicao now hopes to achieve another goal – longevity. 

“I keep evolving,” Conceicao said. “I’m hungry for victory, and with the experience of facing the best. I don’t step into the ring just to fight, I step in to win.”

Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.