Keita Kurihara of Ichiriki Boxing Gym, unleashing a barrage of left-and-right combinations, knocked out Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation bantamweight champion Froilan Saludar of the Philippines in the eighth round to recapture the title in their rematch in the City of Cebu on Jan. 26.

  It was the 31-year-old Kurihara’s fourth OPBF bantamweight title.

  In their first fight last October at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena, Kurihara was stopped in the first round.

  The knockout of the scheduled 12-rounder at the Convention Center of NUSTAR Resort Cebu came 1 minute and 13 seconds into the round when Kurihara floored Saludar for the second time in the fight in a neutral corner, and Saludar failed to beat the referee’s count.

  Unlike in their first bout, Kurihara came out strong from the opining round by putting his opponent against the ropes and scored a knockdown in the fourth round with a left hook followed by a right hook to the head.

  While the 34-year-old Saludar hung tough, he could not cope with Kurihara’s incessant attack in the following rounds.

  With the win, Kurihara improved his record to 18 wins, including 16 KOs, against eight losses and a draw, while Saludar sagged to a 34-8-1 win-loss-draw tally with 24 KOs.