KENNETH Llover lived up to expectations and destroyed Keita Kurihara in just a single round to wrest the Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation bantamweight crown in Tokyo, Japan Monday night.
The undefeated Filipino sent the Japanese champion twice to the canvas behind a pair of left hand, before the referee waved off the fight when Llover landed another left that rocked Kurihara anew before a stunned crowd at the famed Korakuen Hall.
When it was over, Llover went to the top rope and screamed on top of his voice as he won the first major title belt of his budding career.
Official time was at the 2:33 mark of the opening round.
Managed by two-time world champion Gerry Penalosa and handled by Elmer Anuran of Titleholder and Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy, Llover improved to a 14-0 record, including 9 KOs.
The compact Filipino team is set to arrive in Manila on Tuesday night.
Penalosa though, had to take the later flight as Japanese promoters began to take a huge interest in the rising Filipino prospect.
The win was the second straight for Llover in Japan after a similar first round stoppage of Tulio Dekanarudo in Osaka last December which was over in just 58 seconds.
Kurihara didn’t last that long as Llover swarmed all over him right from the opening bell, eventually setting up the Japanese with his left straight that put the champion down for the first time.
The Japanese did beat the count, but the Filipino went straight to him right away and threw a series of combination before being caught with another left for the second knockdown of the fight.
It was the beginning of the end for Kurihara, who will lost his OPBF title a few seconds after.
Kurihara saw his record fell to 19-9-1 including 16 KOs.
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