Apolinario wins IBO flyweight crown with 1st round KO on South African foe’s turf

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino prospect Dave Apolinario headed into his opponent’s territory in East London, South Africa and impressively knocked him out in just one round to annex the vacant International Boxing Organization (IBO) flyweight championship at the International Convention Centre late Friday.

The 23-year-old Apolinario clipped Gideon Buthelezi with a thunderous left straight with exactly 10 seconds left in the first round that sent the South African fighter down. Buthelezi tried to get up and paused on one knee, but he was eventually counted out by the referee as Apolinario and his corner immediately erupted into a wild celebration.

Filipino Dave "Dobermann" Apolinario (17-0, 12 KO's) goes to East London, South Africa and knocks out Gideon Buthelezi (23-6) in the opening round for a KO-1 victory to claim the vacant IBO flyweight title pic.twitter.com/tJUPVjLtQ6

— Tim Boxeo (@TimBoxeo) July 29, 2022

The rousing victory was the undefeated Apolinario’s 17th in as many bouts and his 12th by way of knockout.

The rising star out of Sarangani province knew he needed to win convincingly to avoid a hometown decision.

“I need to knock him out in order to surely win,” said Apolinario, nicknamed “Doberman,” in a report by Philboxing.com.

The win by Apolinario is a welcome development for Philippine boxing, which as of recently had no world champion, although the IBO title is considered to be among the least prestigious.

Buthelezi fell to 23-6.