By REYNALD MAGALLON
Renowned strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza can already see a lot of promise in undefeated Filipino prospect Kenneth Llover in just the short time that he had spent with him.
Ariza went as far as saying that he’s seeing a lot of similarities between Llover and Manny Pacquiao and the 22-year-old pride of General Trias, Cavite could even be the next multi division world champion.
“They all have something that they take from Manny that they see in Manny. Kenneth just has probably the right combination of everything. He’s got speed already. He has natural power,“ said Ariza.
Ariza was once part of Team Pacquiao and handled the strength and conditioning of the eight-division world champion during his peak years.
Ariza was just recently tapped by the Gerrypens promotions to handle the conditioning of Llover in the fight against two-division world champion Luis Concepcion of Panama.
Though Llover still has rough edges that need polishing, the veteran coach is optimistic that he could carry those abilities as he moves forward to his career.
“Let’s not forget, he’s just a kid still. I ended up with Manny when he was already 28. We have a long road here. I just think that this is going to be the next kid that’s going to follow through the division. From a physiological standpoint. Looking at him, seeing how he’s growing,“ Ariza said of Llover.
“You start to envision these things ahead for the next one. To 122, to 126, to 130, and hopefully 135. As a conditioning coach, that’s our vision. That’s for my part of the team. But he has it,“ he added.
But to do that, of course, Llover needs to go up the ranks in the bantamweight division where Japanese Junto Nakatani reigns, holding the World Boxing Council (WBC) and international Boxing Federation (IBF) belts.
