PETE Apolinar returns to Japan and takes on Ryusei Ishii in an eight-rounder on June 19, 2026, at the Edion Hisaya Plaza in Nagoya.
Apolinar is eager to finally earn his first win in Japan. The 31-year-old Apolinar, once a sparring partner of Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue, has already fought five times in Japan from 2022 to 2025 and lost all of them.
He lost to former world champion Yoshiki Takei, Hayato Tsutsumi, Matcha Nakagawa, Kaishu Harada, and Kenji Fujita.
Apolinar is coming off a first-round knockout of Renan Portes last Feb. 26, 2026, in Gen. Santos City.
Meanwhile, Ishii is eager to bounce back after losing two bouts in a row. He was stopped by compatriots Rentaro Kimura and Kai Watanabe.
Apolinar owns a record of 19 wins, seven losses, and a draw, along with 12 knockouts, while the 29-year-old Ishii is 12-9-1 with nine knockouts.
Also seeing action in the same card are Apolinar’s ZIP-Sanman Wellness Center teammates Alex Santisima Jr. and Kiyoto Narukami.
Santisima Jr. (12-2, 6 KOs) locks horns with fellow Pinoy Richard Pumicpic (23-15-3, 7 KOs) in an eight-round bout.
Narukami (5-2-1, 2 KOs), a Cebu-based Japanese, takes on Ryuto Maekawa (12-4-1, 8 KOs). / EKA
