By REYNALD MAGALLON
Undefeated Filipino prospect Kenneth Llover made his title aspirations apparent after defeating former two-division world champion Luis Concepcion via technical knockout in their non-title bantamweight fight at the Winford Hotel and Casino, Sunday, Aug. 17.
Llover showcased his speed and firepower, dropping Concepcion twice in the second and third rounds before unloading a flurry of punches in the eighth — enough to convince the referee to stop the fight at the 2:27 mark.
The 22-year-old pride of General Trias, Cavite remained undefeated with a 15-0 record with 10 knockouts following the victory that served as a fitting warm up before his title eliminator fight against IBF no. 5 Landi Ngxeke in October.
Concepcion, on the other hand, slid to a 40-12 slate.
But the 39-year-old Panamanian did not go down without a fight as he proved to be a tough nut to crack as he still lasted eight rounds despite getting floored twice late in the second round and midway through the third frame.
Though the punishment was already visible to Concepcion’s face in the middle rounds, the Panamanian refused to back down and was actually catching Llover with some big hits to the head.
Llover, however, staggered Concepcion with a left to the body and then a combination to the head before showering him with a few more big hits before the referee intervened and stopped the fight.
“Yung first knockdown na yun, yun yung inaabangan ko talaga sa laban namin. Sabi ko, pag nangyari yun, tapos na eh. Tapos na boxing eh. Pero nakita ko yung talagang tibay niya,“ said Llover ,who tipped his hats off to his veteran opponent
“Yung tibay niya na pinakita sa akin sa loob ng ring talagang binigay niya yung best niya sa akin,“ he added.
