Well, when guys get fat, where do they gain it? Lovehandles? Gut? Yup. Guy's call these 'problem areas.' But the truth is that these are just 'guy areas' and the fat will come off in due time. If these were legitimate problem areas, guys would be able to hit 5% bf and still have floppy lovehandles and gut-- not the case.
It's probably (still) fat. Tell him to keep on cutting. If his abdomen skinfold is over 5-7mm, it's fat he needs to lose.. probably not 'tighen skin'
Andy