Unbeaten Criztian Laurente continues to toughen himself up as he bangs bodies with world No. 1 super-lightweight Andy Hiraoka at the Ohashi Gym in Yokohama, Japan.

A former national team standout, Laurente now fights out of JC Mananquil’s SanMan Boxing of General Santos City and is looking at headlining a major presentation of Manny Pacquiao Presents: Blow-By-Blow in late-August.

Armed with a 14-0 win-loss card with nine knockouts, Laurente traveled to Japan last week with ex-unified world super-bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales, who was tapped to help pound-for-pound king Naoya “Monster” Inoue in sparring sessions.

Inoue is revving up for a defense of the undisputed titles in September against Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev in Nagoya.

Laurente also got signed as a sparring partner by fellow southpaw and world No. 1 super-lightweight contender Andy Hiraoka, who packs a 24-0 mark with 19 knockouts.

Also working with Laurente in sparring is Taiga Imanaga.

Mananquil said that if the Blow-By-Blow show proceeds next month, Laurente will be fighting for a regional crown as his management team has grand plans for the 25-year-old native of General Santos City.