PETE Apolinar scored a huge upset with a ninth-round stoppage of Japanese Shunpei Ohata in a back-and-forth war to snag the World Boxing Organization Asia-Pacific featherweight belt on Saturday night, Sept. 26, 2026, at the FujisanMesse in Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan.
The 31-year-old Apolinar dropped Ohata in the third round. But the promising Japanese prospect returned the favor and knocked Apolinar down in the fifth.
Apolinar pressured Ohata and landed a series of punches that forced his corner to throw in the towel at the 2:11 mark. Apolinar improved to 21-7-1 with 14 knockouts, while Ohata fell to 8-2 with five knockouts
Meanwhile, in the same fight card, Japan-based Filipino contender Mark Vicelles failed in his bid to become a world champion after suffering a second-round technical knockout at the hands of talented International Boxing Federation light-flyweight king Thanongsak Simsri.
Vicelles was off to a hot start and dominated the opening round of the fight with his aggressiveness. However, Simsri found his rhythm in the second round and connected with a vicious right straight that decked Vicelles. The 30-year-old Pinoy challenger stood up and fought on but was sent right back to the canvas with another solid right. Vicelles showed a lot of heart and stood back up, but the 26-year-old Simsri immediately smothered him with a flurry of punches that forced referee Koji Tanaka to wave off the fight at the 2:05 mark of the second round.
Simsri now has an impressive win-loss slate of 41-1 with 36 knockouts, while Vicelles dropped to a win-loss-draw record of 21-3-2 with 11 knockouts.
Simsri will be defending his belt next against No. 1 contender Regie Suganob early next year. / EKA
