ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Boxing devider Kenneth Llover to quickly spring back to action in October title-eliminator fight

Kenneth Llover to quickly spring back to action in October title-eliminator fight

Published Aug 18, 2025 03:17 pm

At A Glance

  • Undefeated Filipino prospect Kenneth Llover is wasting no time in his pursuit for a world title as he is set to immediately return to the boxing ring when he takes on Landi Ngxeke in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) title eliminator bantamweight fight on Oct. 26 in Kyrgyzstan.

Kenneth Llover
Kenneth Llover
Undefeated Filipino prospect Kenneth Llover is wasting no time in his pursuit for a world title as he is set to immediately return to the boxing ring when he takes on Landi Ngxeke in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) title eliminator bantamweight fight on Oct. 26 in Kyrgyzstan.
The 22-year-old was already looking prime for a world title chase after stopping a very tough veteran in Luis Concepcion in the eight rounds on Sunday, April 17 at the Winford Hotel and Casino in Manila.
Llover floored Concepcion, a former two-division world champion, twice in the early rounds but still took his time to finish off the 39-year-old Panamanian.
The end then came after a thudding left to the body hurt Concepcion, to which Llover followed up with a combination to the head.
As impressive as the fight was for Llover, his promoter and Filipino boxing great, Gerry Peñalosa said Ngxeke will be an entirely different challenge for the rising star from General Trias, Cavite.
“Magandang laban iyon. Hit and run, stylist  may height may footwork may lakas pero sabihin natin experience pareho lang sila,“ Peñalosa said of Ngxeke who sports a 16-1-1 record with eight knockouts.
“The good thing about it nakikita ko tinalo siya ng isang pilipino. Bagsak, that means hindi siya granite talaga so ang laki ng tyansa natin but like i said, kailangan ni Kenneth talaga ng stamina,“ added the Filipino boxing great-turned-promoter.
Should Llover come out victorious, it is likely that he will face the winner between Jose Salas Reyes and Riku Masuda, who will then be fighting for the IBF bantamweight strap that is to be vacated by Japanese star Junto Nakatani.
Another possible fight for Llover is a potential matchup against current World Boxing Association (WBA) champion Antonio Vargas of Mexico.
Peñalosa, meanwhile, is non-committal for a possible all-Filipino clash for Llover against WBA interim titlist Nonito Donaire.
“As much as possible wag natin kalabanin and kapwa Pilipino parang hindi maganda tingnan. Pero well see. Kasi career advancement rin iyon for Kenneth. Unfair naman (sa kanya), yan pero, yun nga, like sabihin natin, huwag naman na sana all Filipino yung maglalaban,“ said Peñalosa.
Another potential fight for Llover is for the WBC belt should Tenshin Nasukawa win the strap that is also vacated by Nakatani.
Nasukawa has been daring Llover for a fight though Penalosa doesn't see it happening yet as he believes that the Japanese is actually evading the Filipino fighter.
“Sabi lang niya yun, duwag din siya. Nasa IBF lumipat siya ng WBC, alam niyan nandoon si Kenneth eh,“ said Peñalosa.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.