Ancajas decisions Sultan, keeps IBF super fly crown
IT was a fifth successful defense for Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas as he defeated Jonas “Zorro” Sultan in their all-Filipino clash for the International Boxing Federation super flyweight title, winning by a convincing unanimous decision.
The first Filipino versus Filipino battle for a world title after 93 years, Panabo City native Ancajas made sure that there would not be a change in titleholders in the 12-rounder at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California, by clinically dominating challenger Sultan, 119109, 119-109 and 117 and 111.
Champion Ancajas dominated right from the get-go, peppering Mr. Sultan with solid jabs to the midsection and straight lefts and right hooks to the body and head that set the pace for him.
He continued such precision throughout the contest even as Zamboanga’s Sultan stayed persistent and managed to land some solid hits himself.
Sensing that he was behind in points, Mr. Sultan tried to pick things up and make up for lost ground in the last two rounds.
But Mr. Ancajas proved himself up to the challenge and met Mr. Sultan head-on, stirring the crowd which trekked to the venue in the process.
When the smoke cleared and Mr. Sultan failing to score a knockout, there was no denying who the winner was, sending the Ancajas camp into celebration.
In victory Mr. Ancajas was all class and gave credit to his opponent.
“I would like to thank God for making me and Jonas safe during the fight and there was no injury,” said Mr. Ancajas, who improved to 30-1-1 with the win, in the postfight interview.
He also went on to thank promoter Bob Arum and his Top Rank Promotions for making the fight, which was originally to be played last month, possible.
Mr. Ancajas said he will wait for the decision of the matchmakers on who he will take on next, including Kal Yafai, who also won on Sunday, but expressed his readiness to fight whoever is put in front of him.
“I’m ready for whoever is next but I will wait for the decision of the promoters and match-makers,” Mr. Ancajas said.
With the loss, Mr. Sultan dropped to 14-4 and saw his winning streak stopped at five.
Prior to Sunday’s fight, the last all-Filipino world title encounter was between the legendary Pancho Villa and Clever Sencio in May 1925 where the former defended and retained his flyweight title.
Meanwhile, also victorious was Filipino boxer John Vincent Moralde, who scored a unanimous decision win over Ugandan Ismail Muweldo in their scheduled eight- round junior lightweight clash.
Mr. Moralde, who hails from Davao, won, 77-73, 77-73 and 7674, punctuated by knockdowns in rounds 1 and 5.
The win pushed Mr. Moralde’s record to 20-1.