Peñalosa inks co-promotional deal with Kameda Promotions

Kameda Promotions’ top honcho Koki Kameda (left) and Gerry Peñalosa (right) pose for a photo. | Photo from Peñalosa

CEBU CITY, Philippines — In his pursuit of a world title shot for rising star Kenneth “Lover Boy” Llover, former world champion-turned-promoter Gerry Peñalosa has sealed a co-promotional partnership with Japan’s renowned Kameda Promotions.

Peñalosa recently flew to Japan to formalize the 15-month co-promotional agreement between his outfit, GerryPens Promotions, and Kameda Promotions, focusing exclusively on boosting the international career of Llover.

“This short-term partnership is centered on Kenneth,” said Peñalosa in an interview with CDN Digital.

“After his impressive performance in Japan, Kameda Promotions was eager to team up with us to promote him further,” he added.

The deal includes three scheduled bouts for Llover: his first in September, followed by fights in December and March next year.

Llover, a promising bantamweight prospect, holds an unblemished 14-0 record with nine knockouts.

He captured the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) bantamweight title last March with a stunning first-round knockout of Keita Kurihara in Tokyo. That win followed his explosive debut in Japan last December, where he also scored a first-round KO against Tulio Dekanarudo to claim the OPBF interim crown.

CRUCIAL BOUT

On the local front, Llover has also collected the WBO Asia Pacific Youth and WBC Asia Continental bantamweight titles in dominant fashion. His growing accolades have earned him the No. 11 spot in the IBF bantamweight rankings.

Llover is now slated to face the experienced Christian Medina Jimenez (24-4, 17 KOs) of Mexico, the IBF’s No. 7-ranked bantamweight, in a crucial bout this September in Japan.

A victory would significantly boost Llover’s chances of landing a world title eliminator — or even a championship fight — within the contract’s duration.

“If he becomes world champion during the contract, the deal automatically extends,” Peñalosa explained.

“I studied the offer carefully before signing. Just like how Inoue has Ohashi Promotions with TV and casino backers, Kameda also has strong television and commercial support behind them.”

Peñalosa added, “When I went to Japan, we agreed to a short-term deal. If Kenneth becomes champion, we’ll extend. The goal is to land a title shot within this contract — hopefully starting with an eliminator in his next fight.”