SPORTS FACTS AND FIGURES 52: JERWIN ANCAJAS SUFFERS FIRST CAREER KNOCKOUT LOSS TO TAKUMA INOUE
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 25 Feb 2024
Jerwin Ancajas suffered a knockout loss for the first time in his career as he failed in his bid to seize the WBA bantamweight title from Takuma Inoue at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, February 24. Takuma Inoue has come totally out of his older brother Naoya’s shadow after scoring a very spectacular ninth-round knockout of Ancajas.
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Inoue was considered as the lighter puncher due to his low KO rate. But he landed a perfect body shot that floored the Filipino challenger who fell on his knees with a minute left in the ninth round, unable to withstand a string of brutal body shots from Inoue. The referee stopped the contest at 44 seconds remaining of the ninth.
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“It (knockout) was a big surprise. I was ready to go the full route,” Inoue was quoted by Boxing News. Ancajas started to dominate the fight against the champion who seemed to get exhausted. But suddenly the Japanese unleashed a right uppercut to the liver and after a delayed reaction dropped Ancajas who was in pain. The fight was stopped when he could no longer get up.
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It was the third loss in four fights for Ancajas, who fell to a 34-4-2 with 23 KOs, while Inoue upped his record to 19-1 and he delivered only his fifth knockout victory.
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Takuma Inoue successfully defended his WBA title for the first time despite some worries about Ancajas. He proved to be the speedier fighter than the former IBF super flyweight champion and was ahead on all three scorecards when the fight was stopped.
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“I knew coming in tonight that my opponent was going to be the best ever. I was really worried until today,” Inoue told Rappler. “I did not really know what to expect and I did not want to bore the audience going into full rounds.”
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Ancajas said it was the first time, including those in sparring, that he was dropped by a body shot. “I couldn’t breathe. It was perfectly timed,” disclosed Ancajas, who said that he still suffered the pain at the dugout.
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“Until today I didn’t know what to expect. But I’m grateful we got this result,” said Inoue, who celebrated his victory atop the ring with his elder brother, the more distinguished undisputed superbantamweight champion Naoya "Monster" Inoue.
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Earlier in the undercard, Filipino veteran Jonas Sultan also suffered a defeat in the hands of Japanese Riku Masuda in a staggering first-round knockout. Sultan dropped to 19-7, 11 KOs, while Masuda climbed to 4-1 with 4 KOs.
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Sports History: February 25, 1964. Cassius Clay, later named Muhammad Ali, defeated Sonny Liston in an upset victory to become world heavyweight champion. Clay, who was an 8:1 underdog, won in a major upset, when the champion gave up at the opening of the seventh round. It was among the most controversial fights in the sport's history. Sports Illustrated magazine named the fight as the fourth greatest sports moment of the twentieth century.
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