A shot at a first ever world title will have to wait a while for Kenneth Llover.
The hard-hitting Filipino bantamweight suffered the first loss of his pro career following a split decision against American Michael Angeletti Saturday in Nagoya, Japan.
The 23-year-old southpaw scored a flash knockdown in the second round of their title eliminator fight at the Aichi Tokoname, Aichi Sky Expo, giving him the confidence and early momentum against his taller and equally unbeaten opponent from Texas.
But Llover appeared to have faded out in the late rounds, allowing Angeleti, 29, to take command and score a reversal.
In the end, two judges had the American winning by scores of 115-112 and 116-111, while the other judge had it for Llover, 115-112.
Angeleti (15-0, 8 KOs), earned the right to be the mandatory challenger to the IBF bantamweight crown of Jose Salas Reyes.
The hard-hitting Llover is now 17-1 in his career, with 12 KOs.
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