Martin Concepcion concedes defeat in September will spell the end of his fistic career.The mallet-handed Leicester puncher - last seen being taken apart inside five minutes by unbeaten Sergey Rabchenko in February - has been handed the opportunity to be a two-weight Midland Area boss when he meets current champion Matt Hainy in a must-win ten-rounder on September 25.
The East Midlands pair dispute ownership of the middleweight belt on a Clifton Mitchell-promoted card at the Hermitage Leisure Centre in Whitwick (about 15 miles outside of Leicester) and Concepcion, a former British and Commonwealth 11st title challenger, knows anything less than his hand being raised will push him towards retirement.
Having suffered back-to-back inside-the-distance defeats, the 29-year-old is eager to re-discover the form that took him to 11 wins in his first 11 paid outings, eight of those men failing to hear the final bell, and a belt at light-middleweight.
But in Derbyshire-based Hainy, 8-2 (1), he meets a honest and bigger boxer whose only professional reversals arrived at super-middleweight. Then-undefeated Sam Horton outpointed him by a single point after a torrid 30-minute tussle for 12st Area strap and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Tony Jeffries ended matters earlier, pounding the body and stopping him in two.
Hainy has, however, yet to taste defeat at 11st 6lbs and holds two victories over men who've beaten his soon-to-be opponent's brother, ex-Masters king Kevin.
Birmingham dangerman Tony Randell outscored the older Concepcion yet only won a single session against the former kick-boxer when they swapped leather last year. And Southampton prospect Tony Hill entered with an unblemished four-fight ledger but that was snapped on points and then went on to blow away Kevin inside three minutes.
So it's a matter of family honour for Martin, 17-9 (10), who promised to revert to the explosive style that was a trademark of his early career. He said: "This is the biggest fight of my career so far. If i lose, it's over. If i win, it's the English title next.
"I think, based on the little footage I've seen, Hainy is similar to [Kevin] Hammond," reasoned a chin-or-be-chinned scrapper who outpointed Lincoln's Hammond in a brace of toe-to-toe Area title clashes at light-middleweight in 2010.
"I've still got ambitions but, if i lose this fight, i'll have to ask myself if i should carry on. I don't want that and i'm training the way i did when i first turned over - looking to take them out as quick as i can.
"It's a fight I've got to win," he added.
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