WBA Summons Purse Bid for Artem Dalakian v Luis Concepcion
On August 19, the World Boxing Association (WBA) ordered a contest between world flyweight champion Artem Dalakian (20-0, 14 KOs) and mandatory contender Luis Concepcion (39-8, 28 KOs). Per sanctioning body rules, both camps were given 30 days to hammer out a deal before a possible purse bid on September 28.
Here’s an update. Unfortunately, neither camp was able to come to terms. As a result, the WBA are taking matters into their own hands. On September 15, they announced the fight will go to a purse bid. That bid will be held at their headquarters on September 27 in Panama City, Panama at 10 AM local time. It will stream live on Zoom.
TAKING CARE OF OBLIGATIONS
Dalakian’s last outing was on June 15, 2019, when he defeated then-mandatory challenger Sarawut Thawornkham. According to their guidelines, the deadline for his next mandatory defense was March 14, 2020.
Concepcion earned this opportunity when he TKO’d Rober Barrera in eleven rounds in February of 2020 to win the then-WBA 112-pound “interim” world title. When the sanctioning body decided to do away with the interim belt, Concepcion was moved up to mandatory challenger. Before his win over Barrera, the 35-year-old looked to be on the downside, losing four of his previous seven fights.
It’s been a frustrating time for the defending champ. Dalakian was inactive in 2020 due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, he hoped to engage in a unification bout against the current WBC champion, Julio Cesar Martinez. That fell through when WBA mandated he faces Concepcion.
On paper, Dalakian – Concepcion appears to be a match of the boxer versus the slugger. Dalakian prefers opponents to come to him to more pot-shot and fight in spurts. He is also very adept at neutralizing their inside attack by tying them up on the inside. It’s not the most pleasing style to watch, but it gets the job done. Concepcion likes to attack and rely on his punching power to blast his opponent into oblivion.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
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