ANCAJAS IS READY TO RUMBLE AGAINST GONZALEZ
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 30 Jan 2018
International Boxing Federation (IBF) superflyweight titlist Jerwin Ancajas before his departure for Texas for his title fight with Mexico's Israel Gonzalez, tried the scales and was very happy with the figures that was read. ?Ready to rumble,? said Ancajas, adding that it won't be a problem making the division weight limit as reported by Nick Giongco of Manila Bulletin. ?Even if we do it tomorrow, I believe I will easily make it,? added the 26-year-old champ.
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Ancajas arrived in Corpus Christi, Texas from Los Angeles accompanied by lead trainer and manager Joven Jimenez and stablemate Mark Anthony Barriga. They also brought with them former world champion Rodel Mayol and 1990 Asian Games gold medalist Roberto Jalnaiz. According to Giongco, Mayol and Jalnaiz won?t be at the corner but will work behind the scenes with Mayol tasked to keep an eye on the hand-wrapping of Gonzalez during fight night and Jalnaiz assigned to work on camp matters. Only Jimenez and Barriga and Fil-Australian and former Manny Pacquiao opponent Todd Makelim will act as seconds at the corner during the fight.
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Ancajas knows he has to make a good impression in his first fight on US soil to convince Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum that he did not commit an error in signing him to a three-fight deal. ?What I want to do on fight night is to show everyone that they (Top Rank) didn?t commit a mistake in getting me,? said Ancajas. ?I believe that I still have a lot to show,? he added.
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Ancajas was born and raised in Panabo City. He was introduced to boxing while he was still in the second grade by his brother, Jesar. Jerwin won several national championships, including a gold medal at the Palarong Pambansa, before turning pro in 2009, at the age of 17. Ancajas made his professional debut on July 2009. Ancajas suffered his only loss in his fifteenth pro bout, losing a majority decision to Mark Anthony Geraldo. He became the IBF junior bantamweight champion when he defeated McJoe Arroyo on September 3, 2016. Ancajas severely outclassed Arroyo, dropping him in round 8, to win a unanimous decision.
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Romero "Ruthless" Duno bolstered his career after making quick stoppage of Yardley Armenta Cruz of Mexico on Sunday (Manila time) at the Forum in Los Angeles. The General Santos native knocked out Cruz just 1:01 of the first round in their lightweight bout. Duno at the start of the fight, immediately clobbered his foe, unloading a flurry of combinations that Cruz could not retaliate.
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?That was our plan, to finish the match in three to four rounds,? Duno told ABS-CBN Sports. ?When I stepped into the ring, I got excited and I didn?t imagine that it would end that fast.? The win improved Duno?s record to 16-1, with 14 knockouts. He has now a winning streak in his last seven fights. His only defeat was an eight-round decision loss to undefeated Mikhail Alexeev in Ekaterinburg, Russia, in May 2016 for the vacant WBO youth super featherweight title.
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Glenn Rushton, Horn's trainer, believes Terence Crawford's trainer Brian McIntyre has learned from the mistakes of Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao and won't leave the chance for an upset by taking him lightly. Horn was back in training for the biggest fight of his career so far, his scheduled WBO welterweight title defense against Crawford on April 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
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"Everyone's got to go back to work and everyone knows how hard that can be," Horn was quoted by AAP. Rushton said he was 80 per cent through of his analysis of Crawford, the undefeated American superstar who was identified as Horn's mandatory challenger after becoming the undisputed world junior welterweight champion. Crawford's extraordinary speed and ability have not been experienced by Horn in his opponents.
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McIntyre has been by Bud's side training him since his amateur days. "I deeply respect the Crawford team. Brian McIntyre his coach has been with him since he's a kid," Rushton said. "I respect that, the fact they've built that bond over time. Knowing McIntyre and the way their team and the professionalism of the team, they saw what happened with Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao when they underestimated us." He does not believe that McIntyre will make the same mistake and thinks he will be very well prepared.
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Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Gennady "GGG" Golovkin are scheduled to meet again in a much-awaited rematch on May 5 rematch. Actor and former wrestler Dwayne Johnson announced it in a video released by Home Box Office. Golovkin, who suffered the only stain on his 38-fight professional record as a result of the draw in the first encounter, said he is looking forward to the rematch. ?I am ready to battle Canelo again and am happy he took this fight again,? Golovkin said. ?This is the fight the world wants. This is the fight boxing deserves. I didn?t agree with some of the judges? decisions in the first fight. This time there will be no doubt. I am leaving the ring as the middleweight champion of the world.?
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Alvarez was equally excited of the rematch. ?I?m delighted to once again participate in one of the most important boxing events in history,? Alvarez said. ?This second fight is for the benefit and pleasure of all fans who desire to see the best fight the best. This time, Golovkin won?t have any excuses regarding the judges because I?m coming to knock him out.? Although a venue is yet to be confirmed, New York?s Madison Square Garden, Las Vegas?s T-Mobile Arena and the Dallas Cowboys? AT&T Stadium are being considered. The September first bout drew a record gate revenue of $27.1M for an indoor Las Vegas fight.
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Not many boxing stars have recorded knockout streaks of over 20 fights. Bantamweight devastating fighter Carlos Zarate is the only pugilist to have two of such streaks. Zarate won his first 23 fights by knockouts. After recording a decision victory, he stopped his next 28 opponents. During his second streak, he won the WBC bantamweight title and also knocked out Alfonso Zamora, who was at that time also in a 20-plus KO streak. Zarate's streak ended in appropriate fashion, against fellow knockout artist Wilfredo Gomez, when Zarate went up to super bantamweight to challenge for the title. Both of them, Gomez and Zarate entered the fight with a combined record of 73-0-1 with 72 KOs. Gomez prevailed, stopping Zarate in the fifth round.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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