After an easy second-round stoppage of Indonesian Frengky Rohi last Feb. 11, the 24-year-old Apolinario will be tested against a tough and very talented opponent in Mosinos in his first fight in Japan.
“It will be a good test for Dave. Mosinos is a good and tough boxer and trains in the Nacho Beristain Gym. But I think Dave will put on a show and show everyone that he’s ready for a world title,” Sanman Promotions chief executive officer JC Manangquil told SunStar Cebu.
In preparation for this fight, Apolinario has been sparring with some elite sparring partners, the likes of former world title challengers Vince Paras and Jayson Mama.
After fighting mostly in the Philippines his whole career, Apolinario finally got a big break last year after earning a fight in South Africa against South African star Gideon Buthelezi for the vacant International Boxing Organization.
Apolinario made quick work of Buthelezi and stopped him in a single round to become a world champion. However, the title that he won was a world title from a minor organization.
Apolinario wants to become a world champion in one of the four major boxing sanctioning bodies — World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Organization (WBO), World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF).
Apolinario already has a target in sight, Artem Dalakian, who currently holds the WBA belt.
“We want to go for the WBA flyweight title,” said Manangquil.
Apolinario is highly rated in all four world sanctioning bodies. He’s ranked No. 2 by the WBA, No. 5 by the IBF, No. 9 by the WBO and No. 14 by the WBC.
Apolinario shouldn’t take Mosinos for granted because he’s a legitimate adversary.
The 26-year-old Mosinos fought the likes of former world champions Elwin Soto and Mario Rodriguez. He lost to Soto by a controversial split decision last May 13 in Mexico, while he defeated Rodriguez in 2019 by unanimous decision in a WBC Continental Americas flyweight title fight also in Mexico.
Apolinario is 18-0 with 13 knockouts, while Mosinos is 23-5 with six knockouts. (EKA)