THE man who put Manny Pacquiao in tip-top shape for his high-profile fights against Oscar Dela Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, among others, has taken under his wings another Filipino world champion prospect.
Alex Ariza has been tapped as strength and conditioning coach of undefeated bantamweight prospect Kenneth Llover beginning with his coming fight against Mexican Luis Concepcion a month from now at the Winford Resort and Casino in Manila.
READ: Unbeaten Kenneth Llover faces ex-world champ Luis Concepcion next
Ariza was quick to remind him of Pacquiao the moment he had his first glimpse of the 22-year-old Llover.
“He is good. He is young and raw; he only has 14 fights. Obviously, we can see the Pacquiao influence on him - the movement, the speed, and he has great power. It is going to be a road ahead of us, but there is a lot of potential. He has an exciting, fan-favorite style,” said Ariza.
Other than Pacquiao, Ariza also worked with other renowned world champions such as Floyd Mayweather Jr., Amir Khan, and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Ariza working with Llover comes in the first of the three-fight deal his outfit Gerrypens Promotions of former two-time world champion Gerry Penalosa inked with Japan’s Kameda Promotions.
Llover, from General Trias, Cavite, is coming off a sensational first round demolition of Keita Kurihara to win the OPBF bantamweight crown last March in Tokyo, Japan.
His record stands at 14-0 with 9 KOs.
Concepcion meanwhile, holds a 40-11 record with 29 KOs and once held the WBA flyweight and super-flyweight crowns.
Ariza sees a potential world champ in Llover especially he’s handling him early at this stage of his career.
“He is young right now, so he doesn’t complain about anything,” said Ariza. “He doesn’t mind getting up early, and he doesn’t mind what we feed him. The entire team is here and we’re putting the same focus into Kenneth as we did when we started moving Manny up in weight. It’s the same team.”
The August 17 fight is promoted by Gerrypens Promotions and Kameda Promotions and co-presented by Winford Resort and Casino. It will be simultaneously air live and free on One Sports, One Sports Plus, Pilipinas Live, and Abema TV in Japan.
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