British Scene: Sam Webb vs Martin Concepcion & Jamie Arthur vs Kris Hughes Previews

Dave Oakes previews Saturday night's Sky Sports show featuring Sam Webb vs Martin Concepcion and Jamie Arthur vs Kris Hughes.

Winning a title is hard but sometimes defending can be even harder, complacency can set in with the champion believing he’s got the divine right to win all of his fights from there on in.

Sam Webb is certain that won’t be the case on Saturday night when he defends his British light-middleweight title for the first time against Martin Concepcion. He’s said that he’s in great shape and has trained as if he was the challenger rather than the champ. That's the right attitude to have and one that will serve him well.

Webb, 16-1 (4 KO’s), took his time and steadily worked his way to British level. He was guilty of being overeager early in his career – I can remember him being touted as a Ricky Hatton style fighter – but has developed into a well schooled and somewhat underrated boxer.

The way he patiently dealt with the unorthodox Anthony Small to win the title was impressive. Small can be a nightmare to work out and carries respectable punch power, but Webb boxed intelligently behind a solid defence and picked off Small whenever the opportunity to do so arose.

Concepcion, 17-7 (10 KO’s), was much touted when he turned pro, unfortunately his career has never really got going. He’s had some good wins, most notably his first round stoppage of the then undefeated Matthew Hall and two hard fought wins against Kevin Hammond, but has been on the end of some damaging stoppages as well.

It’s fair to say that Concepcion is the quintessential big banger with a vulnerable chin. He possesses knockout power, especially with the left hook, but has been stopped four times in his seven losses and has been dropped on numerous other occasions.

His biggest fight to date was for the Commonwealth title against Bradley Pryce; he never really looked at ease in the fight and was knocked out in the third round. I feel he’s a more mature boxer these days and should deal with the pressure of being in a title fight much better this time around.

The fight is a nice blend of styles, Concepcion will be dangerous early but Webb is the better skilled and more rounded fighter. I feel Webb is a level above Concepcion and despite not being a big puncher, should be able to catch the easy to hit Concepcion often enough to force a stoppage late in the fight.

Co-headlining the show is Jamie Arthur, who drops down to super-bantamweight to challenge Kris Hughes for the vacant Commonwealth crown.

Arthur, 17-4 (4 KO’s), is the more experienced man but is yet to win a title in his career as a pro. He’s fought in one title fight, a points defeat against Martin Lindsay earlier this year for the British featherweight title. He showed plenty of spirit against the Belfast man but never looked capable of beating him.

Hughes, 11-0 (1 KO), is taking part in his first championship fight, having not gone past eight rounds yet. His best win came in his third fight when he beat Matthew Edmonds on points over six rounds. He's a southpaw who occasionally switches and can put together nice combinations at times, but he is guilty of switching off and allowing his opponents back into fights.

I can see this one being a very close affair, Arthur is a gutsy performer whilst I’ve still got my doubts to how good Hughes is. The fight looks set to go the distance, neither fighter carries significant power, although Arthur has suffered from cuts previously and that may happen again.

Hughes will have the confidence of an unbeaten fighter but I’ve got a feeling that Arthur will see this as his final chance of winning a title and may edge the inexperienced Scot down the stretch to sneak a close points decision.

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