Jovanny Concepcion takes to boxing quickly
Farmingdale's Jovanny Concepcion, left, jabs and later scores a first round KO over Shaquille Legal of Costello's BC at 152 pounds during the Long Island Amateur Boxing Championships at Gleason's gym. (Aug. 9, 2012) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
Jovanny Concepcion's fighting spirit was born on the wrestling mats of Farmingdale High School. But once he graduated in 2011, he needed something to fill the void.
That fall, Concepcion started boxing under the tutelage of trainer Herman Williams, first at the now-closed Long Island Boxing Gym in Deer Park and now at the Westbury Boxing Gym.
Fast forward less than a year, and the 20-year-old Concepcion found himself at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn making his amateur debut. He fought Shaquille Legal Thursday night in a 152-pound novice quarterfinal at the Long Island Amateur Boxing Championships. The payoff: two knockdowns, a first-round stoppage and a berth in Friday's semifinal.
"I was a little stiff at first, but my coach told me to go to the body and then come with the uppercut, and it worked," Concepcion said.
From the first day Concepcion stepped into the gym, Williams thought he had something special.
"I noticed that he had a great work ethic," Williams said. "As a trainer who has been doing this for 24 years, that's one of the first things I look for in a prospective fighter. Because a lot of kids come in here and say they want to fight, but then when you put the work on them, they see that it has to be continuous hard work. Jovanny was the exception. He wanted to do more work. You had to tell him to stop. That was one of the ground tenants for a good competitor, a good fighter."
Concepcion wrestled for Farmingdale and had a fine varsity career, placing fourth in the 2011 Nassau Tournament at 145 pounds. He now attends Nassau CC and has a job waiting tables at a restaurant.
On days that he works a double shift, Concepcion does not leave the restaurant until 11:30. He then rushes to Planet Fitness for some treadmill running and shadow boxing. It is a packed schedule that leaves little time for anything else.
"I'm young. I have the energy, and I might as well do it," he said. "People have it worse than I do, so I don't complain."
Concepcion, like any novice boxer, is crafting his style and taking some punches. Last week, during a sparring session against an opponent 25 pounds heavier, he proved his mettle. As he moved forward, Concepcion got tagged on the chin by a left hook.
He survived the ensuing onslaught, the round ended and Concepcion shuffled back to his corner.
"At the end of that round, I said 'are you done?,' " Williams said. "He said, 'no, one more round.' "
Added Concepcion: "Everybody gets their bell rung. Now that it happened to me, I know what to do to avoid it."
It is now one amateur fight down, many more to go, with a pro career potentially in the cards. The learning curve from wrestling to boxing has been swift. Concepcion has taken a shot and, staggered, came back for more.
And with a first-round KO under his belt, the wrestler-turned-boxer is off and running.
