Following back injury, Luevano set to defend his title

By Brett Okamoto

Friday, Aug. 14, 2009 | midnight

Six weeks into training for a featherweight championship fight, WBO champion Steven Luevano saw all his hard work go up in flames.

In the middle of a run with three training partners down a steep hillside, Luevano accidentally stepped in a pothole on the side of the road.

Instead of face-planting into the pavement, which he now says he wishes he would have done, the 28-year-old world champion threw his arm out to catch himself -– pulling his back muscle in the process.

“We were just messing around, running down the hill,” Luevano said. “I wanted to prevent myself from falling but I probably would have been better off if I had just fell. I was close to tearing a muscle in my back. I tried to train on it for two days but it was just too painful.”

The injury forced Luevano to pull out of a fight with Filipino up-and-comer Bernabe Concepcion. The fight, which was scheduled on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton fight in May, was to be Luevano’s fifth title defense.

“It was very frustrating, I was already six weeks into training for the fight,” he said. “It was close to the fight, too, only something like two weeks.”

Luevano will return to the ring Saturday night for the first time since October of last year to face Concepcion with his title on the line at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

To shake off the rust from such a long break, Luevano took three months to train for the fight instead of the usual eight weeks he typically uses.

While there were timing issues at first, the Luevano camp says he is prepared for Saturday.

“The first few weeks were difficult. We had concerns that the layoff was hurting him,” said Luevano’s trainer, Robert Garcia. “But the last four weeks were so good. He was sparring very good partners with no problems.”

None of Luevano’s four successful title defenses have come by way of knockout. His tools are known more for winning rounds than putting his opponents to sleep, which has sometimes put him under scrutiny for not being a more exciting fighter.

In a 12-round draw with Mario Santiago in June of last year, Garcia reminded his fighter that keeping his belt is more important than playing to the crowd.

“I told him that he had fought the fight the crowd wanted to see,” Garcia said. “Who cares about what people think or if Top Rank is unhappy about it? They can’t take the belt away. I told him, ‘As long you’re still the world champion, who cares? Take the fight to 12 rounds and take the decision.’”

Taking Saturday night’s fight the distance may prove to be difficult against Concepcion, who has knocked out four of the last fighters he’s seen.

It’s also the first time in Garcia’s training career that he will go head-to-head with Freddie Roach, who is widely considered the best trainer in the world.

Although Garcia has been training fighters for eight years, he still considers himself a beginner and is looking forward to seeing where his skills match up against the man who trains Pacquiao.

“I’ve went to his gyms many times and he’s a professional. It’s a challenge to me,” Garcia said. “I never even thought about it but when this fight was announced that was the first thing that came to my mind.

“And it’s not just the way he trains his fighters, but also his influence on the judges, the crowd, that means a lot. I think that is going to be against us.”

By the numbers:

9 Professional fights Luevano has fought in Las Vegas

3 Professional fights Concepcion has fought here.

16 Age at which Concepcion began his professional career.

1 Knockout Luevano has scored in his past 10 fights

6 Knockouts Concepcion has scored over his past 10.

17-7 Final score of Luevano’s bout with Rocky Juarez during the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials that eliminated him from the team.

243 Total number of rounds Luevano’s fought -- 78 more than Concepcion.

Last five:

Luevano: 4-0-1, (KO, UD, UD, D, UD)

Concepcion: 5-0, (TKO, TKO, KO, TKO, UD)

He said:

Luevano: On whether there was ever a time he lost his quiet demeanor: "No, I can’t think of one. This is just how I’ve always been. When I was an amateur people tried to call me out but I never really thought nothing of it."

Concepcion: On whether he’s recognized in the Philippines: "Um, not so much. Maybe I’ll be more popular after this fight."

Las Vegas Sun Predicts:

This is a tough fight to call. Luevano doesn’t always dazzle the crowd with knockout finishes, but he’s mastered the ability to outclass his opponents with his solid overall technique. Concepcion almost follows the same style as his mentor Pacquiao: He’s an aggressive counterpuncher who jumps all over an opponent in trouble. Luevano is a terrific fighter, but Concepcion gets the slightest edge to win Saturday night by knockout in the middle/late rounds.