SULTAN SEES A CLOSE FIGHT AGAINST ANCAJAS
By Virgi T. Romano
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 15 May 2018
LOS ANGELES, Ca. --- With eleven days to go before the biggest challenge of his young career, Jonas Sultan is keeping his fingers crossed when he meets compatriot IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas.
"Close fight ang nakikita ko sa laban namin kasi pareho kaming gusto na manalo, siya (Jerwin) gusto manalo para champion pa rin, ako, gusto manalo para maging champion [I see a close fight because we both want to win. He wants to win to remain a champion while I want to win to become the champion]," the 26-year old Sultan said while playing guitar after a day's training at the Wild Card Boxing Club where he sparred for six rounds against a Mexican boxer.
The 26-year-old boxer of the famed ALA Boxing Stable, arrived in the US two weeks ago, to acclimatize himself early while preparing for Ancajas, who is set to arrived Tuesday.
Though Ancajas is taller by two inches, it doesn't matter to Sultan, as he sees this to his advantage.
"Mas mababa ako, pero mas magalaw ako, yun ang advantage ko sa kanya, magalaw ako sa laban [I'm shorter but I am more shifty, that's my advantage]," he commented.
This will be Ancajas' fifth title defense of the 115-pound title he won in 2016 against McJoe Arroyo. In his last defense, he pummeled Mexican Israel Gonzales enroute to a 10th round knockout last February in Corpus Christi, Texas.
As for Sultan, history will be in the offing for him and Ancajas not only for being the first all-Filipino boxers to fight in a world championship after the historic Pancho Villa-Clever Sencio bout in 1925, but in foreign soil at that.
"Sa laban na ito, matala na yung pangalan namin sa history ng boxing bilang unang Pinoy vs Pinoy na lumaban sa labas ng bansa [In this fight our names will be etched in history as being the first Pinoy vs Pinoy who fought for a championship outside the country]," he giggled.
And will the fight go the distance? Sultan has this to say: "Sa knockout siguro tsambahan na lang kami. Hindi ko ma-predict, pero, paunahan na lang kami [If there's a knockout, either one of us could get lucky. I cannot predict, but one of us has to go for a knockout first]." (VTRomano)
Photo: Jonas Sultan (R) spars with a Mexican boxer at the Wildcard Gym in Los Angeles Monday. Photo courtesy of Edito Villamor.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Virgi T. Romano.
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