DEFYING the odds and the hostile hometown crowd, Kenneth Llover stopped Japan’s Keita Kurihara in the first round to wrest the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation bantamweight crown impressively at the famed Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan last Monday night.
Llover, 22, entered the ring the 2-1 underdog but showed why he is seen by some local ring pundits as the second coming of Manny Pacquiao, scoring a technical knockout win with 27 seconds left in the opening round.
After both fighters sized each other up early on, Llover struck with a crackling left straight that had Kurihara going down for the first time with barely a minute left in the round.
The dazed Japanese wobbly rose to his feet after the hard punch as the referee gave him the mandatory eight count in the bout sanctioned by the World Boxing Council.
Sensing blood, the Filipino southpaw then swarmed all over his Japanese foe, connecting with a vicious left hook that brought Kurihara down for the second time.
At that point, the referee had seen the hometown bet no longer fit to continue and waved Llover to his corner, ending the fight.
Llover jumped on the ropes, letting out a huge roar, before diminutive trainer Dindo Ocampo carried him on his back while his delighted supporters, among them manager Gerry Penalosa, Titleholder.ph chairman and Blackwater chief Dioceldo Sy, entered the ring to congratulate him.
“Lover Boy” remained undefeated in 14 matches while claiming his ninth knockout victim in Kurihara, 32, who absorbed his ninth loss in 29 fights against one draw.
The victory will boost Llover up the WBC world ratings, moving him closer to a potential title crack at unbeaten WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani of Japan.
