Wins OPBF 122lb belt in fifth pro bout

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Naoki Fukuda

“Japanese Naseem Hamed” former K-1 Grand Prix champ Yoshiki Takei (5-0, 5 KOs), 121.75, impressively wrested OPBF 122-pound belt as he dropped defending champ Pete Apolinar (16-3, 10 KOs), 121.75, a hard-punching Filipino, three times and quickly halted him at 2:07 of the fifth round in a scheduled twelve on Friday in Tokyo, Japan.

Takei, a tricky southpaw with good footwork, 26, stunned the crowd with a jolting right hook decking the champ and with a short left flooring him again in the closing second of round two. Apolinar, 27, who had acquired the vacant OPBF belt by stopping Jhunriel Ramonal in the tenth this April, showed his recovery in the third, but hit the deck again with Yoshiki’s looping right hook midway in the fourth. The open scoring system indicated Takei so widely leading on points after the fourth—all 40-33. As Takei had the champ staggering with another assault in round five, referee Matsubara wisely declared a well-timed halt to save Apolinar from further punishment.

The muscular and flexible Takei had scored three first-round stoppages since he made a debut in the international style fighting from Ohashi Gym (which Monster Naoya Inoue belongs to) and dispatched JBC ranked Shingo Kawamura in two lopsided rounds this April. The former K-1 champ (whose K-1 mark was 23-2, 16 KOs) is worth watching.

Promoter: Ohashi Promotions.

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