By Jake Donovan

Any visions that Bernabe Concepcion has previously carried of punching his way back into title contention may have vanished for good following his latest tumble. The two-time title challenger was dropped early and struggled to keep pace with journeyman Jimmy Paypa, who scored a stunning upset 12-round win Saturday evening at Yñares Sports Arena in Manila, Philippines.

Paypa's stick and move style successfully disrupted Concepcion's rhythm throughout their super bantamweight title fight. However, it was an opening round knockdown that set the tone for what would be a long night for the veteran contender.

A perfectly timed counter right hand from Paypa clipped Concepcion on the temple, causing him to hit the deck hard for a clean knockdown. The 28-year old boxer recovered and did his best to force a momentum shift, but with minimal success.

Despite boasting the power to cause damage, Paypa stuck with what he knew best - working the jab and moving out of Concepcion's punching range.

The strategy worked well enough to win on two of the three scorecards for the biggest achievement of his young career to date. The 22-year old from Cebu City moves to 18-3-1 (6KOs). The victory is his second straight following a 1st round knockout loss last February to Shingo Wake, who is now in line for a mandatory shot at a super bantamweight title. 

Paypa was thought to be a long way off from such a fight, but his latest feat could place him squarely in contention, although as a considerable longshot against anyone in a loaded super bantamweight division.

The odds of Concepcion making any noise at 122 - or really in any weight class - or virtually off the charts. A five-fight unbeaten streak comes to a close as he falls to 34-7-2 (20KOs), suffering his first loss since a 7th round knockout to then-unbeaten contender Mikey Garcia in Feb. '12.

Garcia would go on to capture titles at featherweight and super featherweight.

Concepcion fell short in two separate bids at alphabet glory, though competitive on both occasions. He was disqualified for excessive low blows in an otherwise tightly contested Aug. '09 affair with then-feahterweight titlist Steven Luevano. Two fights later, the Pinoy slugger traded knockdowns with Juan Manuel Lopez before bowing out in the 2nd round of their July '10 shootout. 

A win on Saturday could have provided a path for a possible third title shot, given the regional belt at stake. Instead, it's back to the drawing board and a long hard look in the mirror for Concepcion to determine the path he'd like to travel for the remainder of his career.

The bout aired live on Philippines Solar Sports. 

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox