Ancajas keeps title
JERWIN Ancajas put on a clinic in his sixth-round TKO victory over Jamie Conlan to retain the world juniorbantamweight championship in Belfast, Northern Ireland Sunday morning (Manila time).
That the bout at SSE Arena lasted that long was a testament to Conlan’s refusal to go down in front of his hometown.
But that pride and determination would be overwhelmed by Ancajas’ sheer lack of mercy.
From the get-go, it didn’t seem like Conlan would be able to keep up, as he was knocked down for no apparent reason in the first round, what seemed like a delayed reaction to an earlier hit.
It was downhill from there for the Belfast native, as he sustained a cut above his left eye in the second round, fell again in the third and fourth rounds, before referee Steve Gray halted the action in the sixth just after he dropped to his knees for a fourth time.
The fight was stopped with just a little more than 2 minutes left in the sixth round.
Ancajas, nicknamed “Pretty Boy,” had nary a scratch on his face in a closeto-perfect performance. The only blemish to his showing came in the fifth round when he was docked a point after being called several times for low blows.
Other than that, Ancajas, promoted by Manny Pacquiao, whose footsteps Ancajas has said he wants to follow, looks ready to take the next big step of his career — get a fight in the United States.
Ancajas raised his winloss record to 28-1 with 1 draw, as he dealt Conlan his first loss in 20 fights.
It is the third straight successful title defense by the 25-year-old since he took the belt away from McJoe Arroyo of Puerto Rico in September 2016.
Ancajas’ last bout saw him stop Teiru Kinoshita of Japan in the seventh round in Brisbane, Australia in July.
Coupled with his first title defense against Mexican challenger Jose Alfredo Rodriguez in Macau in January, Ancajas — born and raised in Panabo City but currently calls Imus, Cavite his home — has now staked his belt in three different countries, all with convincing results in his favor. Abs-cbnnews