BONSUBRE: ANCAJAS AND THE PACQUIAO COMPARISON
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 04 Feb 2018
Jerwin Ancajas did what was expected from him and retained the IBF world super flyweight title by TKO in the tenth round against his Mexican challenger Israel Gonzalez.
The southpaw Ancajas showed his powerful right jab in the opening round. During an early exchange, Ancajas ducked to avoid Gonzalez?s combos and then caught the Mexican with a left hook to the jaw for the first knockdown of the fight.
Ancajas showed patience in landing well placed shots in the subsequent rounds. Gonzalez was game and had his moments. Ancajas? cornerman Joven Jimenez was heard on TV constantly reminding his fighter to throw his jab and keep his hands up so as to not allow Gonzalez to change the momentum with a hard shot.
Gonzalez pressed the action at the start of the fifth knowing he was in a deep hole as far as the scorecards were concerned. But Jerwin landed the cleaner and more powerful blows. Jimenez also instructed Ancajas to throw more combinations and shorter punches.
Ancajas applied the coup de grace in the tenth, using his straight left to drop Gonzalez again. The challenger got up but Ancajas pounced and decked him again. Referee Rafael Ramos correctly stopped it, saving Gonzalez from unnecessary punishment.
To Gonzalez?s credit, he performed better than Ancajas? previous three challengers.
Ancajas is now 29W-1L-1D,20KO?s. Gonzalez drops to his second loss at 21W-2L,8KO?s.
Former WBC light flyweight champ Rodel Mayol and philboxing correspondent Epifanio Almeda think that Ancajas has matured as a fighter.
?Hinog na.? Mayol and Almeda told this writer in separate messages.
Ancajas is promoted by Manny Pacquiao?s MP Promotions. That alone invites comparisons in his U.S. debut. He was also signed up by Top Rank which guarantees more media attention.
But Ancajas is not the unstoppable force of nature that Pacquiao was in his prime.
Jerwin is a technician and his methodical style works for him. He now has four title defenses all by TKO. He should not change the way he fights just to please the casual fans.
We should give him credit though that he has shown he can handle the pressure and the media attention.
There is a looming all-Filipino showdown with mandatory challenger Jonas Sultan which will guarantee a lot of press here in the Philippines.
The Pacquiao comparison is good in the sense that more people are talking about Ancajas. Philippine boxing needs a boost and needs a new star. For the past few years the number boxing shows on Philippine television have dwindled. Local fights are still not shown live on free TV in the Philippines.
The Philippines currently only has two world champions, the other being IBF flyweight champ Donnie Nietes.
Filipino fight fans and television network bosses should realize that there is only one Manny Pacquiao.
I understand the profit side of the network business but TV execs should also know that Ancajas is not alone. There are many like him out there waiting for their chance to shine.
Ancajas spent the better part of his career hidden from the television cameras until he fought in Macao.
Do we really need a foreign promotional company to remind us of the abundance of talent that we have?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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