SPORTS ROUNDUP 19: ANCAJAS HAS NO WEIGHT PROBLEMS AND IN BETTER CONDITION
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 26 Sep 2018
Jerwin Ancajas (30-1-1, 20 KOs) will fight Mexico's Alejandro Santiago Barrios (16-2-4, 7 KOs) for his sixth title defense, on Friday, September 28 (Saturday Philippine time) at the Oracle Arena, San Francisco, California. Ancajas must win convincingly to show that he is ripe for the big time in the superflyweight division. He wants to fight WBC champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, or former WBA (unified) and WBO flyweight titleholder Juan Francisco Estrada.
Santiago Barrios is 22-years-old, from Tijuana, Mexico. He is ranked no.14 contender by the IBF, and had two decision losses early in his career. He fought then undefeated fighter Antonio Nieves to a draw in New York. He boxed on the road twice to Puerto Rico to forge draws with another previously undefeated foe Jose Martinez.
Referring to his successful fifth title defense against countryman Jonas Sultan last May in Fresno, California, Ancajas says "I'm in a better condition now, than in my previous fight." He said he has no weight problems as he tipped the scales at 117 lbs., which was ideal for the limit of 115 lbs. ready for Thursday's official weigh-in.
Superflyweight top fighter Sor Rungvisai, who twice conquered erstwhile pound-for-pound champion Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez, defends his crown anew on October 6 against Iran Diaz in his home country Thailand. If the Thai champ triumphs, which is most likely, he is slated to face Estrada again in another mandatory defense. Matchmaker Sean Gibbons plans for Ancajas to face the winner of the Sor Rungvisai-Estrada fight.
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IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua disclosed the techniques to be physically fit and how to stay long in his career. ?Cristiano Ronaldo did a body test,? he told Gareth A Davies of The Daily Telegraph. ?He is 33, but has the body of a 21-year-old. You have to preserve your body.? The 28-year-old Englishman revealed that he listened to conditioning experts to make sure that he achieves his maximum potential at the peak of his career seeing to it that he has a legacy to leave when he retires with his brain cells intact.
?I am learning to adjust my life. When I watched a Pacquiao documentary, he trains when his body is ready. It looks lazy, but you're still getting the same amount of work done and in a better way,? Joshua added. Under Armour, one of Joshua?s several sponsors, laid on laboratory sessions for the heavyweight fighter. His promoter Eddie Hearn says Anthony, as a British boxer, is by far the most advanced in terms of training facilities or what he does.
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Russian Alexander Povetkin has accepted that unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was the stronger fighter in their showdown Saturday at the Wembley Stadium in London. Povetkin suffered the first stoppage loss of his pro career. His only other defeat, which took place in 2013, was a decision loss at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko.
Povetkin held the WBA (Regular) heavyweight title from 2011 to 2013. As an amateur he won a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division at the 2004 Olympics, gold at the 2003 World Championships, and consecutive gold at the 2002 and 2004 European Championships. After taking Olympic Gold, he concluded his amateur career with a record of 125?7, with all losses avenged.
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Jermell Charlo is willing to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. if the former pound-for-pound king wants a tune-up fight in preparation for his rematch with Manny Pacquiao. "If you want a tune-up fight, I'm definitely going to ruin that for Pacquiao," Charlo told TMZ Sports. But Charlo (31-0, 15 KOs) admitted that its very difficult to realize the fight given the situation that he is in his prime and Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) has retired and is in a comeback at age 41 years old.
Charlo held the WBC light middleweight title since 2016. His identical twin brother, Jermall Charlo, also a professional boxer, is a former world champion. In 2017, Jermell was ranked as the world's No. 1 light middleweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB). As of August 2018, he is ranked as the world's No. 2 light middleweight by The Ring magazine and the TBRB, and No. 3 by BoxRec.
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LeBron James admitted that the NBA defending champion Golden State Warriors is a more superior team than his present club the Los Angeles Lakers. "We have a long way to go to get to Golden State," James told ESPN. "They've been together for a few years now." And the King added "We are picking up from scratch."
James said that the reason for his transfer to the Lakers is to play basketball and not to do movies in Hollywood. His SpringHill Entertainment company is involved in several film projects and he will also be doing a starring role in the forthcoming movie Space Jam 2. "I am a basketball player. I play ball. That's what I do. As far as my business is concerned, that stuff has been taking care of itself long before I came out here," James told BBC.
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