Kenneth Llover, Johnriel Casimero both score KO wins in Japan

MANILA, Philippines – Prime prospect Kenneth Llover extended his rampage in the bantamweight division, while Johnriel Casimero started his climb back to relevance as they both won via knockout on Saturday, December 27, at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Japan.

The unbeaten Llover scored a second-round knockout of Ayati Sailike to handily retain his Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation crown.

Touted to become the next Filipino world champion, Llover first dropped Sailike with a combination then finished off the Chinese challenger with another flurry of punches as he posted his fourth win in 2025.

Llover rose to 17-0 with 12 knockouts, including his last five. Sailike fell to 12-10-3 with 5 knockouts.

Llover is being groomed by his chief handler, former two-division world champion Gerry Penalosa, and Kameda Promotions for a world title eliminator in early 2026.

Also with Team Llover were trainer Dindo Campo and strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza.

Showcasing his power, Llover hurt Sailike with a solid body shot in the first round, forcing the challenger to shift to survival mode.

But Llover, eager to please the crowd, charged at him with no let-up.

Meanwhile, Casimero stopped Tom Mizokoshi in the fifth round of their super bantamweight tussle to return to his winning ways.

The 36-year-old Casimero, a former three-division world champion, caught Mizokoshi with a hard right, followed up by two lefts to the face that sent the overmatched Japanese down on the ropes.

Mizokoshi, whose nose bled profusely, beat the count but the referee found him unfit to continue for the eight-rounder, giving Casimero his 35th win against 5 losses and 1 draw with 24 knockouts.

More importantly, Casimero got his career back on track after it got derailed by a unanimous decision loss to Kyonosuke Kameda in October.

The lightly regarded Mizokoshi suffered his second straight setback and slipped to 11-6-2 with 5 knockouts.

Casimero was in control of the bout from the onset and bloodied Mizokoshi’s nose with a right straight in the second round.

Casimero hopes to land a big fight with two-division world champion Luis Nery in early 2026 as the Mexican is also under Kameda Promotions like the pride of Ormoc City. – Rappler.com