Ancajas gears up for title defense
INTERNATIONAL Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight champion Jerwin “The Pretty Boy” Ancajas plunged into Day 2 of intense training at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, fully aware that Mexican mandatory challenger Jonathan Javier Rodriguez drools over his belt.
“He [Rodriguez] is really hungry, prepared and motivated to take my world. I see his post most of the time in Facebook,” Ancajas, 29, told Businessmirror on Tuesday. “We’re friends on FB and I see myself in him when I was a challenger five years ago.”
According to MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons, the title fight could either be on April 17 or 24 in a bubble setup in a still to be determined venue.
“But I’m not bothered. I believe this will be a serious fight. He is a true tough Mexican brawler, but we will adjust inside the ring and be more tactical in my approach,” said Ancajas, who holds a 32-1-2 win-loss-draw record with 22 knockouts.
Rodriguez, 25, sports a 22-1 record with 16 knockouts. He fought last December 4 in Monterrey, Mexico, demolishing countrymanb fellow Julius Yedras. It was his first fight during the pandemic since beating Mexican Felipe Orucuta last June 7, 2019 via a 10th-round technical knockout in Guerrero, Mexico.
“He is a heavy puncher based on his previous bouts, he’s very durable too, Mexican style,” Ancajas said.
The Filipino champion last fought in December 2019 in Puebla, Mexico, where he beat Miguel Gonzales of Chile via technical knockout in six rounds.
Ancajas, supported by the Big Boss Cement under Engineer Gilbert Cruz, was supposed to face Rodriguez in November 2019 but the Mexican encountered issues with his US visa. The fight was reset for April 2020, but that was overran by the global health crisis.