After scoring back-to-back first-round wins, rising Filipino bantamweight Kenneth Llover showed maturity beyond his years by taking his time — and it paid off.
He stopped former two-division world champion Luis Concepcion via eighth-round TKO on Sunday, August 17, at Winford Resort and Casino Manila.
The pride of General Trias, Cavite is now one step closer to a world title shot. His strategy took place by means of patience and that is why he obtained victory.
Despite scoring early knockdowns in the second and third rounds, the 22-year-old from General Trias, Cavite didn’t rush the finish.
Instead, he listened to his corner and stuck to the game plan, ultimately earning a technical knockout in the 8th round over former two-division world champion Luis Concepcion.
“Hindi lahat ng laban natatapos agad. Kailangan may diskarte, may tiyaga, ang pinaghahandaan namin ay world championship,” Llover said.
Concepcion’s grit and experience weren’t enough to stop Llover, whose patience and power carried him through.
“Hindi po [ako na-frustrate] kasi expected ko na po yun sa laban namin ngayon na talagang aabot kami sa mahabang round. Then yun naman yung sinabi sa akin ni Sir Gerry Peñalosa na malakas yan, Mag-ingat ka. Then nung time na knockdown ko siya, di akong nagmadali. Talagang hindi ko siya tinapos kasi once na mamadaling ko yun, pwede akong ako yung madehado, ako yung matsambahan. Kaya, talagang nag-ingat ako na hanggang makuha ko siya sa tamang round na yun yung biniyaya ng Diyos ko kanina.” he added.
Up next: a world title eliminator this October against IBF No. 5 contender Landi Ngxeke. The road to a world championship for Llover is on.
