SPORTS FACTS AND FIGURES 13: JERWIN ANCAJAS TRAINS HARD FOR TAKUMA INOUE
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 13 Jan 2024
Jerwin Ancajas shoots for his second world title in two weight divisions on February 24 when he battles Takuma Inoue, the younger brother of undisputed world champion Naoya Inoue and one of the country's well-loved boxing heroes.
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Ancajas has to wait for Inoue to fully recover from his injury which caused the postponement of their world title fight. The 12-round bout was supposed to be held last November 25, but the Japanese's camp asked for the postponement after Inoue suffered a left rib fracture during sparring practice.
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The fight will be for Inoue’s World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight belt and it will finally happen on February 24 at the Kokugikan Arena in Ryogoku, Tokyo.
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Ancajas is the former International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight champion who finally decided to move up to a higher weight category after back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Argentina’s Fernando Martinez.
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Following his debacle, Ancajas returned to the boxing scene as a superbantamweight on June 24, 2023, and displayed excellent form in scoring a fifth-round knockout of Colombian Wilner Soto.
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After that, Ancajas, who turned 32 on New Year’s Day, trained hard at the Knuckleheads Gym in Las Vegas . He will become Inoue’s sixth Filipino rival. In Las Vegas, Ancajas sparred with Jade Bornea, Jonas Sultan and even with Marlon Tapales.
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Inoue won the WBA title last April 8, 2023 by defeating Liborio Solis of Venezuela via unanimous decision.
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Joven Jimenez said Ancajas is in high spirits and worked hard to peak in his fighting form before they would depart for Japan on February 17.
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“Our preparation is going well,” said Jimenez over Rappler. “Jerwin has been sparring with national boxers and right now, he’s already at 134 pounds.”
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Ancajas owns a record of 34 wins, 3 losses, 2 draws with 23 knockouts while Inoue holds an 18-1 slate with 4 knockouts.
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Inoue lost to two time Olympian Nordine Oubaali of France on November 7, 2019, on the undercard of Naoya Inoue vs Nonito Donaire on the World Boxing Super Series Bantamweight Final at the Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo, Japan.
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Oubaali dropped and outscored Takuma Inoue to retain his WBC title by a unanimous decision with scores of 117-110, 120–107, 115–112.
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The only NBA player in history to allegedly record a quintuple-double is Wilt Chamberlain. He achieved it when he played for the Philadelphia 76ers on March 18, 1968. The NBA did not count steals and blocks at the time, so the record is unofficial. But it is believed that Chamberlain achieved a quintuple-double in that game.
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According to statisticians, Chamberlain scored 53 points, 32 rebounds, 14 assists, 24 blocks, and 11 steals in a game against the LA Lakers, of which the 76ers won 158–128.
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Sports History: January 13, 1976. Future undisputed world middleweight boxing champion Marvin Hagler suffers his first career loss in a controversial 10-round majority decision to Bobby Watts at the Philadelphia Spectrum.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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