The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has named Brazilian lightweight sensation Robson Donato Conceição its final Boxer of the Month for 2015. The AIBA World Boxing Championships bronze medalist, who also competed in Cycle I of AIBA Pro Boxing (APB), capped an excellent year by winning gold at the Rio Olympic Test Event at the start of December, putting himself in pole position for a Rio 2016 medal having booked his quota place with third place in Doha.

Early career

Born in 1988 in Salvador, Bahia, Robson Conceição began boxing at the age of 12. Five years later he showed his potential with flyweight gold at the 2005 Brazilian National Boxing Championships aged just 17 years-old.

In 2007 he joined the Brazilian national squad, competing at the Beijing Olympics a year later and the 2009 AIBA World Championships in Milan, before registering his first major title at the 2011 World Military Games, securing a place at London 2012 in the process. Having won four preparation tournaments ahead of London, his hopes of success were only dashed by Team GB’s Josh Taylor and a partisan home crowd who proved too much to overcome.

The road to Rio

Following an impressive 2013, when he took silver at the Almaty AIBA World Championships in Kazakhstan and the AMBC American Confederation title in Chile, Conceição joined World Series of Boxing for Season IV, finishing the campaign unbeaten. Another impressive AMBC Championships in 2015, this time in Vargas, Venezuela, saw him defeat Cuba’s three-time World Champion Lazaro Alvarez to take gold, confirming his ascension to the world stage.

Third place in Doha at the 2015 AIBA World Championships was enough to secure the Brazilian a deserved Olympic berth at Rio 2016. After beating rivals including Russia’s WSB boxer Adlan Abdurashidov and Great Britain’s EUBC European Confederation Champion Joseph Cordina, the lightweight star only lost out to Azerbaijan’s former World Champion Albert Selimov in the semi-final.

The first Brazilian to qualify for Rio 2016, Conceição underlined his Olympic potential at the start of December with a comprehensive win at the Rio Test Event in the city’s Riocentro venue. A tight semi-final triumph over Great Britain’s promising Luke McCormack and a final victory over Uzbekistan’s APB Champion Hurshid Tojibaev gave a precious taste of victory that Robson Conceição will be desperately hoping to repeat infant of his adoring home fans in August.

Date of Birth: 25/10/1988
Place of Birth: Salvador, Bahia
Height: 175cm
Residence: Salvador
Stance: Orthodox
Achievements:

• 2015 – Rio Test Event, Gold medal
• 2015 – Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships, Doha (QAT), Bronze medal
• 2015 – AMBC American Confederation Boxing Championships, Vargas (VEN), Gold medal
• 2014 – South American Games, Santiago de Chile (CHI), Gold medal
• 2013 – Almaty 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships, Almaty (KAZ), Silver medal
• 2011 – Pan-American Games, Guadalajara (MEX), Silver medal
• 2011 – World Military Games, Rio de Janeiro (BRA), Gold medal
• 2009 – AMBC American Confederation Boxing Championships, Mexico City (MEX), Gold medal
• 2008 – 2nd Pan-American Olympic Qualification Tournament, Guatemala City (GUA), Gold medal

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