SPORTS SHORTS 102: JERWIN ANCAJAS DOWNS JONATHAN RODRIGUEZ IN THE EIGHTH ROUND EN ROUTE TO A UNANIMOUS DECISION WIN
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 11 Apr 2021
Jerwin Ancajas successfully made the ninth defense of his IBF world junior bantamweight title Saturday when he defeated Johnathan Javier Rodriguez by unanimous decision at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.
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Tony Paolillo of New York saw it 115-112, Tom Schreck also of New York had it 116-111, while Don Trella of Suffield, Connecticut scored it 117 - 110 all in favor of Ancajas as Rodriguez cuts his six-fight win streak.
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Ancajas, age 29 of Panabo, Davao del Norte,
alias "Pretty Boy," has fought 219 rounds with a KO rate of 61.11%. While Rodriguez, age 25 of San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosí, Mexico, alias "Titan", has engaged in 137 rounds with a KO rate of 66.67%.
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Ancajas returned to the ring a sixteen-month layoff, was victorious over a volume puncher in Rodriguez, who waited for this mandatory challenge since November 2019. There were two rigorous rounds where Rodriguez was dominating the action. But Ancajas counter attacked and used his left jab on his foe's body.
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Ancajas sent the Mexican challenger down in the eighth round with a flurry of punches that was the turning point of the fight in his favor. It was the first time Rodriguez was knocked down in his career.
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Ancajas (33-1-2, 22 KOs) has now ruled as world champion for 4 years and 7 months, the longest reigning current super flyweight/junior bantamweight champion.
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Khaosai Galaxy of Thailand held the all-time record who ruled the WBA super flyweight title for seven years (1984–1991) and defended it 19 times, winning 16 of his title fights by knockouts.
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Rodriguez (22-2, 15 KOs) suffered just the second loss of his career as he lost his U.S. debut.
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"I'm also shocked that he got knocked down, because Rodriguez is tough," said Ancajas. But the tough Mexican got up to beat the 10-count and kept attacking forward as Ancajas showed his durability as he defended well from Rodriguez's offensive.
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Ancajas' only loss was a 10-round majority decision to compatriot Mark Anthony Geraldo (then 24-5-3) in March 17, 2012 in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
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Rodriguez, age 25 years of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, before the loss to Ancajas, has won six straight bouts since Jose Estrada Garcia defeated him by split decision in a 10-rounder in March 2018 in Monterrey, Mexico.
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It was Ancajas’ fifth fight in the US while Rodriguez is making his debut outside of Mexico. In the official weigh-in, Ancajas tipped the scales at 114 3/4 pounds and Rodriguez weighed 115.
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Both fighters combined to unleash 1,584 total punches in a very entertaining and hard fought match, with Rodriguez outlanding Ancajas 273-232. But the Filipino champion connected with the more telling blows and scoring the fight's only knockdown.
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Ancajas also punched to the body of his opponent more, connecting more body shots 131-44, and hitting more jabs 56-20. Rodriguez had a big advantage in power shots, 253-176.
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Ancajas is ranked as the world's fourth-best junior-bantamweight by The Ring magazine and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and fifth by BoxRec.
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Although he is the longest reigning champion in the 115-pound division with nine successful title defenses, he has yet to get the kind of recognition given to the likes of Chocolatito Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
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"I'll wait for the plan of Sir Sean (Gibbons of MP Promotions). I will wait for the unification if I have an opportunity," he said.
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MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons said Ancajas is very much motivated to impress, especially after being absent from the ring since December 2019.
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“Coach Joven and I have always studied my opponent. We worked hard for this fight,” added Ancajas, who has been training for this fight since October 2020 in Los Angeles, California.
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Ancajas and the rest of his team yielded negative results in the final round of a series of Covid-19 tests ahead of the title defense.
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Mark Magsayo knocked out Pablo Cruz in the fourth round of their scheduled 10-round featherweight fight in the undercard at Mohegan Sun Arena. Magsayo dropped Cruz once each in the second, third and fourth rounds before referee John Callas stopped their fight 48 seconds into the fourth round.
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Junior middleweight Evan Holyfield defeated Nicholas Compton by unanimous decision in a four-round fight. The 23-year-old Holyfield, son of legendary heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, won by the score of39-37 on all three cards.
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The LA Lakers beat the Brooklyn Nets 126-101 despite missing five players and Dennis Schroder who was ejected in the second half. Andre Drummond scored 20 points for the Lakers and Schroder shot 19 before he and Kyrie Irving were removed for a double-technical foul.
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The visiting Lakers were playing without stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis as well as Kyle Kuzma (left calf strain), Wesley Matthews (right Achilles tightness) and Marc Gasol (left hamstring tightness), but the defending champions led the Nets by as many as 28 points to win the fifth time in their last eight games.
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The Brooklyn Nets also were not at full strength, with James Harden (right hamstring) out and Kevin Durant on a limited minutes in just his second game back from an extended hamstring injury.
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Filipino athletes have won a total of ten Olympic medals, as of 2016 Rio Olympics, with boxing as the top medal-producing sport. No Filipino athlete has ever won an Olympic gold medal, making the Philippines the country that has won the second most medals without winning a single gold behind Malaysia which have won 11 medals.
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Malaysia have won 6 silver and 2 bronze medals in badminton, 1 silver and 1 bronze in diving, and 1 bronze in cycling. They won a total of 7 silver and 4 bronze medals.
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The Philippines have won 2 silver and 3 bronze medals in boxing, 1 silver medal in weightlifting, 2 bronze medals each in athletics and swimming for a total haul of 3 silver and 7 bronze medals.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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