Pete Apolinar is getting much-needed experience in sparring for his upcoming title defense after acquiring the services of veterans Michael Dasmariñas and Alie Laurel.“We hired them because Pete’s opponent is a southpaw. There are only a few big southpaws in the Philippines. Their experience will help Pete in this camp,” Omega Gym head coach Jinggoy Junco told SunStar Cebu.Apolinar is set to defend his Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) super bantamweight strap against K-1 star Yohshiki Takei on Aug. 26 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.Dasmariñas and Laurel should be a huge boost in Apolinar’s camp because they both have championship experience and have a combined total of 62 career pro fights.Dasmariñas has fought at the highest level. He challenged current pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue but lost via a third round knockout last year. He’s 31-3-2 with 21 knockouts.Laurel, in the meantime, is a former regional belt holder. He’ s fought the likes of former world title challengers Aston Palicte and Ernesto Saulong. He has a record of 18-7-1 with 11 knockouts.The 27-year-old Apolinar vacated the OPBF belt with a 10th round knockout of Jhunriel Ramonal last April 2 in Parañaque City. This will be his first title defense.“Every fight is important especially now that we are going to defend our belt in our opponent’s territory. If we win this, for sure Pete will be world ranked. This is a difficult fight but it’s winnable. We have an advantage but we have a dangerous opponent because of his power,” said Junco.The 25-year-old Takei is a two-time K-1 champion with a kickboxing career record of 25 wins and two losses with 16 knockouts. He shifted from kickboxing to boxing in 2021 transitioning really well to the sport by winning all his four matches.Apolinar is 16-2 with 10 knockouts, while Takei is 4-0 with four knockouts.