Challenger Yoshiki Takei of Ohashi Boxing Gym, unleashing devastation right-left combinations from all angles, stopped Pete Apolinar of the Philippines in the fifth round to wrest the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation super bantamweight title on Aug. 26 in a highly touted bout in Tokyo.

The technical knockout of the scheduled 12-rounder at Korakuen Hall came 2 minutes and seven seconds into the round when the 14th-ranked Takei, the winner of a former K-1 super bantamweight grand prix before becoming a professional boxer, swarmed all over Apolinar with a barrage of right and left combination blows, prompting the referee to call off the lopsided fight.

The left-handed Takei, who won all of his five bouts with knockout ever since making a debut in March last year, said after the fight, ‘’Honestly, I was a little bit afraid whether I would be able to win a title in boxing. But I got a massive boost from my fans. It was a championship belt captured by all of us here.’’
Takei, 26, needed only one round to knock out his first three foes and two rounds to demolish his fourth opponent in April this year.

With the loss, the 27-year-old Apolinar failed to retain the title he captured in April this year by knocking out compatriot Jhunriel Ramonal for the vacant crown. Apolinar now has a record of 16 wins, including 10 KOs, against three losses.

Apolinar served as one of the sparring partners for Naoya ‘’The Monster’’ Inoue, Takei’s senior stablemate at the gym, for Inoue’s title unification fight with Nonito Donaire of the Philippines, the then World Boxing Council bantamweight champion, in which the Monster demolished Donaire in the second round on June 7 to add Donaire’ title.