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Philippines, 11 Feb 2026 |
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WHY ANCAJAS IS NOT IN SUPERFLY 2 ON HBO AND OPTS FOR TOP RANK ON ESPN By Maloney L. Samaco PhilBoxing.com Fri, 02 Feb 2018  IBF world champion Jerwin "Pretty Boy" Ancajas had his dream fulfilled when he trained at the world famous Wild Card Boxing Gym, where his idol and now his co-promoter Manny Pacquiao trained for several years and became the world's top fighter pound-for-pound. Ancajas (26-1-1, 18 KOs) prepares for his fourth defense of his International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior bantamweight world title against contender Israel Gonzalez (20-1, 8 KOs), of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico this Saturday, February 3 (Sunday Manila time) at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. * * * ?I am here! My dream just came true. At last, I am at the Wild Card Boxing Club,? said Ancajas who was do elated when he arrived at the gym where he glanced at the several memorabilia of the world's only fighting senator. The Ancajas - Gonzalez world championship fight will be the co-main event to the Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez -Habib "Wild Hurricane" Ahmed World Boxing Organization (WBO) super middleweight world title showdown. * * * ?Israel Gonzalez holds his gloves high and is very good defensively. I will have to figure him out in Corpus Christi next Saturday night on ESPN,? said Ancajas. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said, ?Jerwin is an action fighter who has Knockout power. I am anxious to see him perform in front of the fans at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi and those that will be watching on ESPN.? * * * Ancajas will battle Gonzalez and it will be the Filipino champ's first fight of a new multi-fight deal signed with Top Rank. The decision will not enable Ancajas to join in the "SuperFly" fights on HBO. Sean Gibbons, a representative of Joven Sports which handles Ancajas, clarified to BoxingScene.com : "The reasoning behind it is Jerwin's a work in progress and he has a little more development in him and that thing they just want to toss you in with everybody. This way we can do it but at our speed, our pace and who's the best promoter in the world for Filipinos? Bob Arum." * * * The veteran promoter called a media conference at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California to discuss about Ancajas. "We've got a whole country, we've got a lot of things that add up differently than some of these guys that want to jump into the SuperFly," continued Gibbons. Superfly 2 is scheduled on February 24 at the Forum in Inglewood, California and it headlines the WBC superflyweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai facing Juan Francisco Estrada. * * * Gibbons said that they have to do the fight againt Gonzalez and then they have to do the mandatory defense against Jonas Sultan and then pick another fight. "Bob has a tremendous series at ESPN right now and the visibility and the viewership," added Gibbons. He then pinpointed another aspect of the deal that lured them. "ESPN TV5 just started in the Philippines and we're going live to the Philippines. It's about raising his visibility in the Philippines." * * * New WBA "regular" welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (39-4, 36 KOs) arrived Argentina with hordes of fans meeting him at the airport, to take photos with the boxer titlist. Last Saturday, Matthysse stopped the previously undefeated Tewa Kiram (37-1, 27 KOs) of Thailand in eighth round to seize the vacant title at The Forum in Los Angeles. "I am very happy, I had been able to win an interim title, and now with this world title, my dream has came true. It's been many years of sacrifice, I started boxing at eleven and I'm already 35," Matthysse said. He became interim champion on September 8, 2012 when he stopped Olusegun Ajose in Las Vegas for the World Boxing Council (WBC) super lightweight title. * * * New WBA "regular" welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (39-4, 36 KOs) arrived Argentina with hordes of fans meeting him at the airport, to take photos with the boxer titlist. Last Saturday, Matthysse stopped the previously undefeated Tewa Kiram (37-1, 27 KOs) of Thailand in eighth round to seize the vacant title at The Forum in Los Angeles. "I am very happy, I had been able to win an interim title, and now with this world title, my dream has came true. It's been many years of sacrifice, I started boxing at eleven and I'm already 35," Matthysse said. He became interim champion on September 8, 2012 when he stopped Olusegun Ajose in Las Vegas for the World Boxing Council (WBC) super lightweight title. * * * Matthysse also stressed that he wants to fight eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao or a rematch with two-division world champion Danny Garcia. "I always want to fight with the best. I've already said that I would like to do it again with Danny Garcia or a fight with Manny Pacquiao, and I hope that one of those fights will happen," Matthysse said. * * * During his amateur boxing career, Matthysse fought in the 2003 Pan American Games at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he stopped Colombia's Breidis Prescott in just the first round. Lucas has faced Marcos Maidana four times in the amateurs with Maidana winning three times while the fourth resulted to a draw. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.  |
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