MANILA — If you ask match maker Sean Gibbons, he?d rather look at the upcoming Jerwins Ancajas-Jonas Sultan bout as a fight between champion and challenger and not the all-Filipino title clash everyone is hyping about.
Many fight pundits look at the bout as the first Pinoy versus Pinoy world title fight in 93 years.
But nationality doesn?t really matter in such fights, Gibbons insists.
?I don?t look at it as two Filipinos fighting; rather two guys — a mandatory challenger and a champion — who have to fight when they get into the ring,? said Gibbons who has helped bring Ancajas to the international stage.
?The nationality? It doesn?t matter. At fight night, it?s some guy trying to get his belt.?
For Gibbons, it is imperative that Ancajas wins in his second US fight which will take place in Las Vegas in May.
A loss, he warned, will be a big blow to Ancajas?s rise as the next Filipino boxing star.
?The fight is going to elevate the exposure for one of the guys very much,? said Gibbons. ?The other?s gonna say bye bye.?
Gibbons feels Ancajas is a marketable fighter because he has the ?it? factor typically seen in superstars.
?You gotta have something in you. Miguel Cotto has a kind of silent, quiet, deadly way. Floyd Mayweather?s very boisterous,? he said.
?Jerwin has a way of being very humble but at the same time when the fight starts, he brings excitement to the ring.?
?People gravitate toward the kid. There?s something about him.?
