Jerwin Ancajas Makes 7th Defense Against Ryuichi Funai; Still Wants Sor Rungvisai
By Carlos Costa
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 24 Feb 2019
IBF Super Flyweight World Champion Filipino "Pretty Boy" Jerwin Ancajas (30-1-2, 20 KO's) will make the 7th defense of his Red & Gold belt against Japanese IBF #1 challenger Ryuichi Funai (31-7, 22 KO's), a battle that has been confirmed by the fighter's promotion company, Top Rank; however, as of today, date and venue have not yet been finalized.
Until Top Rank decides where to hold the Ancajas vs Funai, boxing fans can only guess when/where the title defense will be.
It is possible that the melee could land in the undercard of Top Rank's show headlining Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Anthony Crolla in a unification battle at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on April 12.
Or, it might as well unfold under Top Rank's Terence Crawford vs Amir Khan welterweight world title fight at the MSG in New York on April 20... or it could be on some other date.
April 12 seems preferable for the champion Ancajas due to a large Filipino community in California, among whom the "Pretty Boy" is widely popular. However, as of now, date and venue are still on the works, though likely to be unveiled in the coming days.
Whenever, wherever his fight gets staged (likely sometime in April), the disciplined Jerwin Ancajas, 27, continues his daily sweating at "Survival Camp," the fighter's training center owned and operated by Ancajas and his coach Joven Jimenez in the town of Magallanes in the province of Cavite, 60 miles southwest of the Philippine's capital, Manila.
"Yes, we are on rigid training," assures Ancajas' coach, Joven Jimenez, from Survival Camp in the Philippines, adding that he and his fighter are just waiting for the promoter's info on date and venue.
"We are just waiting for that confirmation from Top Rank. Monday or Tuesday it might be announced."
INITIALLY, ANCAJAS WANTED SOR RUNVISAI
Late last year, Jerwin Ancajas and his handlers showed clear interest in a WBC/IBF Super Flyweight World Title unification fight of Ancajas against exciting A-Lister Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (47-4-1, 41 KO's) of Thailand, the man who ravaged arguably the most popular and more accomplished fighter in the lower weight-classes: Nicaraguan Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez.
With that thought in mind, Ancajas and his team flew to Bangkok, Thailand, where the affable, ever smiley "Pretty Boy" Ancajas challenged his fellow southpaw super flyweight world champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai to a unification fight.
Rungvisai (L) and Ancajas.
However, the Sor Rungvisa vs Ancajas duel never got an inch off the ground as the Thai star signed a multi-fight promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing and British subscription streaming service DAZN, a direct competitor of ESPN+, which is Top Rank's preferred streaming platform.
Sor Rungvisai's move was directly towards a stirring second world title fight against Mexican star Juan Francisco "El Gallo" Estrada (38-3-26 KO's), a rumble he has reportedly got confirmed for April 26 in Los Angeles on DAZN.
Sor Rungvisai, 32, and Estrada, 28, fought an exciting, fan-friendly battle earlier last year at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
It was an entertaining HBO 12-chapter battle won by the Sor Rungvisai via majority decision in a verdict in which one of the judges voted it a draw -- though a large number of fight fans saw the hard-swinging Thai world champion clearly on top.
Still, the Srisaket Sor Rungvisai vs Juan Francisco "Gallo" Estrada Vol 2 captures instant worldwide attention, with the added-value possibility that the experienced, talented Mexican former unified flyweight world champion might do better this time around; bearing in mind that Sor Runvisai looked good, although not in devastating form, during his last title defense last October in Thailand.
And finally, could boxing fans get the winner of the Ancajas vs Funai IBF battle squaring off the victor of the Sor Rungvisai vs Estrada II war?
The author Carlos Costa is a Panama fight reporter living in Cebu. Carlos can be reached by email: carlos512@hotmail.com and whatsapp/viber 09184538152.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Carlos Costa.
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