INTERNATIONAL Boxing Federation (IBF) No. 8-ranked super bantamweight Kenneth Llover will attempt to bounce back from his first career defeat when he takes on unbeaten Indian Neeraj Swami on Oct. 24, 2026, at the DasmariƱas Arena in DasmariƱas, Cavite.
Llover fought Michael Angeletti in an IBF bantamweight world title eliminator in his latest bout on June 6 in Japan. It was a close contest, but Angeletti walked away with a split decision victory. One judge scored the bout 115-112 in favor of Llover, while the other two judges scored it 116-111 and 115-112 for Angeletti.
It is back to the drawing board for the 23-year-old Llover, who had been a dominant force after winning his first 17 professional fights.
The Filipino fighter needs a decisive victory in his upcoming bout to regain his momentum and stay on track for a world title shot.
Meanwhile, Swami just turned professional last year. He won by unanimous decision over Harsh Nagar in his pro debut in India. He then won two more fights in his home country against Shanborlang Marbaniang and Krish Gupta before taking his first overseas bout. Swami fought Bangladeshi Md Easin in Bangladesh and beat him by unanimous decision.
Before turning professional, Swami fought Olympic silver medalist Carlo Paalam in the amateur ranks, where he lost by a technical decision.
Llover holds an impressive win-loss record of 17-1 with 12 knockouts, while the 28-year-old Swami carries a 4-0 record with one knockout. / EKA
