ZIP-SANMAN Wellness Center warriors Pete Apolinar, Alex Santisima Jr., and Kiyoto Narukami are seeing action in Japan on Friday, June 19, 2026.
The trio’s trainer, Michael Domingo, has high expectations for his wards in their respective fights at the Edison Hisaya Plaza in Nagoya.
“I believe that they will show up inside the ring because they did well in training, sparring, and conditioning. There will be no reason for them to have bad performances. For sure, they will be impressive,” Domingo told SunStar Cebu.
The 31-year-old Apolinar locks horns with fellow veteran Ryusei Ishii in an eight-rounder.
Apolinar, a former sparring partner of Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue, is eyeing his first win on Japanese soil.
Apolinar has already fought five times in Japan, suffering defeats to former world champion Yoshiki Takei, Hayato Tsutsumi, Matcha Nakagawa, Kaishu Harada, and Kenji Fujita.
The 30-year-old Ishii is eager to bounce back after losing his last two fights. He’s coming off a fourth-round stoppage defeat to Rentaro Kimura.
Apolinar carries a win-loss-draw record of 19-7-1 with 12 victories coming by knockouts, while Ishii is 12-9-1 with nine knockouts.
Meanwhile, Santisima takes on Japan-based Filipino boxer Richard Pumicpic in another eight-round bout.
Santisima returns to the ring after a six-month layoff. He stopped Jelo Bacalso in the third round in his latest outing last Dec. 21, 2025.
Pumicpic, on the other hand, is also seeking redemption after losing his last fight, a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Young Doo Choi, last March.
Santisima sports a 12-2 record with six knockouts, while Pumicpic is 23-15-3 with seven knockouts.
In the other eight-round contest, Narukami, a Japanese fighter based in Cebu City, faces off with Riyoto Maekawa.
Narukami is looking to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Leonard Pores III late last year.
Maekawa also wants to end a two-fight slump after stoppage defeats to Ekichi Ueno and Tsuyoshi Sato.
Narukami is 5-2-1 with two knockouts, while Maekawa is 12-4-1 with eight knockouts. / EKA
