Peñalosa To Test "Lover Boy" Llover Versus Accomplished Panamanian Veteran Concepcion
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 10 Jul 2025
Promoter Gerry Peñalosa will be testing the readiness of his young prized ward Kenneth Llover for the next level by pitting him against Luis Concepcion, an accomplished and tested Panamanian ring veteran and former two division world boxing champion.
Llover who is currently OPBF bantamweight champion will battle Concepcion, a Panamanian veteran of more than 50 bouts in the main event of a fight card to be held on August 17, 2025 at the Winford Resort Hotel in Manila.
Concepcion is also a former world champion at flyweight and super flyweight and counts on Khalid Yafai, Kohei Kono and Hernan "Tyson" Marquez, with whom he had a series of blockbuster fights, as among his more prominent victims.
Concepcion parades a 40-11 mark with 29 knockouts and promoter Gerry Peñalosa, also a two-division world champion like the Mexican puncher, believes Llover, who is unbeaten in 14 bouts, with nine wins by knockout, will be severely tested.
Peñalosa has witnessed Llover's fighting prowess when he scored back to back knockouts of Tulio Dekanarudo and Keita Kurihara in Japan to complete his conquest of the OPBF bantamweight crown in his last two fights, both held in Japan. That nearly prompted Peñalosa to mount a world title challenge of the Japanese fighters currently holding the world belts in the division.
But Gerry had a change of mind as he himself underwent further seasoning before challenging for a world title in his time.
Experience and ring maturity are something that cannot be taught in the gym, he believes.
"Concepcion is the most decorated foe yet for Llover. He brings a wealth of experience with over 50 fights. This fight will show how ready is for the next level. Fans can’t miss this one,” Peñalosa said.
Organised by Peñalosa's Gerrypens Promotion, the event will be co-promoted by Japan's Kameda Promotion whose chairman Koki Kameda, himself a former boxer and world titlist, reportedly will be coming over to watch the fight. It was Koki's brother Daiki whom Concepcion replaced as flyweight titlist when the former moved up in weight in the early 2000s.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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