Filipino prospect Kenneth Llover ended his busy year in the same place it began, scoring a knockout win in Japan.
The 22-year-old from Cavite province in the Philippines dropped China’s Ayati Sailike twice in the second round, ending the fight at 2:07 of the second round at Aichi Sky Expo in Aichi, Japan.
The 10-round scheduled bantamweight fight was part of the undercard of the Masamichi Yabuki vs. Felix Alvarado IBF flyweight title fight.
Llover, 17-0 (12 KOs), scored the first knockdown on a right hook-left hand counter, and then put him back down moments later with a pair of left hands that had Sailike holding his ear throughout the completed 10 count.
The win is the fourth of the year for Llover, who is co-promoted by former two-division world champion Gerry Penalosa and the Japan-based Kameda Promotions. Llover entered the fight ranked No. 5 by the IBF, No. 10 by the WBA and No. 9 by the WBC at bantamweight. His biggest win to date came in August, when he stopped former WBA junior bantamweight titleholder Luis Concepcion in eight rounds.
Also appearing on the undercard was former three-division champion John Riel Casimero (pictured), who bounced back from his disappointing loss two months earlier with a fifth-round stoppage of Tomu Mizokoshi. Casimero, 35-5-1 (24 KOs), of Ormoc City, Leyte, Philippines dropped Mizokoshi with a pair of left hooks, and though Mizokoshi beat the count, his face was damaged enough that the referee thought better of it and stopped the fight.
The 36-year-old Casimero was fighting for the first time since his surprise decision loss to Kyonosuke Kameda in Kyrgyzstan, which had halted his eleven-fight unbeaten streak.
