Philippines, 18 Mar 2026
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Enter a sparkling Pinoy world champ


PhilBoxing.com




IT WOULD not be fair to call Jerwin Ancajas just another Filipino world champ, although he did join a gang of reigning Pinoy world titleholders with a sensational triumph before his countrymen in Taguig on Saturday.

One more sparkling Pinoy world champ from nowhere sounds more like it.

Ancajas, 24, the new IBF world super flyweight champion, was not too known in his home province, Davao. He was also relatively obscure all over the country.

* * *

His title challenge against the unbeaten McJoe Arroyo of Puerto Rico (17-0) drew only scant notice in local and national media. His big win was a barely visible ear item in this section yesterday.

Ancajas, son of a banana plantation worker, got only $3,750 (15 percent of the total $25,000 purse) for the successful mandatory challenge. But knowing the full significance of his victory, he wasted no time and announced he was dedicating his triumph, hard-fought and hard-earned, to his native Davao, which on Friday, eve of his world title shot, was shattered by a nightmarish bomb blast that killed 14 people and wounded more than 68 others in a busy downtown night market.

?Despite what happened last night, I hope I could inspire a bit of happiness with this win,? Ancajas told Rappler.

* * *

?Ancajas gave a career-best performance in front of a very animated home crowd and seized the world crown after 12 tension-filled rounds,? wrote the respected boxing expert and international ring physician Dr. Rene Bonsubre.

Nick Giongco: ?With his right hand turning out to be more than just a lead punch, everything went right for southpaw Jerwin Ancajas in his first world title attempt ? He pummeled Arroyo with effective right jabs, sneaky right hooks and vicious combos to the body.?

Rene Bonsubre: ?The early rounds were a chess match. Ancajas dominated the second half when he hurt Arroyo in the sixth with a hard left. Ancajas blasted Arroyo through the ropes with a volley a couple of rounds later.?

* * *

By the way, Ancajas should also be listed as the second straight Filipino boxer this year to capture a world crown coming in from nowhere. A huge underdog, Ancajas? title win was a resounding follow up to the world junior bantamweight championship win by the unheralded Marlon Tapales, who last July traveled unnoticed to Thailand where be stopped the feared Thai Pungluang Sor Singyu, conqueror of a parade of Filipino boxers.

Ancajas? victory actually made it a total of five Filipino world champions, although Donnie Nietes is officially without a crown after he relinquished his WBO light flyweight crown to move up and campaign in the flyweight division. (The other two reigning Filipino world champions are WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. and IBF flyweight champion Johnriel Casimero).

The Ancajas victory has been listed as the first world crown for Manny Pacquiao Promotions, which won the purse bid and staged the championship.

With Sen. Pacquiao?s direct involvement, this could also be the start of something great. Pacquiao himself practically came in from nowhere, a last-minute substitution, when he conquered African Lehlo Ledwaba for the world super bantamweight crown, a triumph that touched off his remarkable rise to world boxing superstardom, the lone eight-division world title winner.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Recah Trinidad.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • MILLER AND PERO CLASH IN HEAVYWEIGHT SHOWDOWN IN LAS VEGAS ON APRIL 25
    , Wed, 18 Mar 2026
  • Middleweight Championship Battle Between (C) Khamzat Chimaev and (#3) Sean Strickland Headlines UFC® 328 at Prudential Center Live on Paramount+
    , Wed, 18 Mar 2026
  • Sampson Lewkowicz & TM Boxing Sign Undefeated Mexican Prospect José Ángel Guerrero to Co-Promotional Deal
    , Wed, 18 Mar 2026
  • 12-Time World Champion & Hall of Famer James Toney Confirmed for Ninth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Cinco De Mayo Weekend, Saturday May 2, in Las Vegas
    , Wed, 18 Mar 2026
  • Five stitches for Donaire’s cut
    By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 17 Mar 2026
  • Roberto Gomez Training Camp Notes
    , Tue, 17 Mar 2026
  • Esneth Domingo Trains at the Wildcard Gym in Los Angeles Ahead of His US Debut
    , Tue, 17 Mar 2026
  • Tatay Digong Birthday Run on March 28
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Tue, 17 Mar 2026
  • 12-0 prospect Marco Romero to headline This Friday in Independence, Missouri
    , Tue, 17 Mar 2026
  • 700 athletes on March 21-22 at UM
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Tue, 17 Mar 2026
  • United States Earns Four Gold Medals on Final Day of 2026 World Boxing Futures Cup
    , Mon, 16 Mar 2026
  • Mexico wins 2 bronze medals at World Boxing Futures Cup in Bangkok
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Mon, 16 Mar 2026
  • Arnold Barboza Jr. Shines in Welterweight Debut, Defeats Kenneth Sims Jr. to Claim Wbo Global Welterweight Title
    , Sun, 15 Mar 2026
  • WBC top contender Canoy returns to Davao with Unanimous Decision Victory
    , Sun, 15 Mar 2026
  • John Randall Peralta: The Future of the Philippine Chess
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Sun, 15 Mar 2026
  • Alvin “Felemon” Dologuin Claims Win in Brico Santig’s Show in Thailand (PHOTOS)
    , Sun, 15 Mar 2026
  • Donaire's Yokohama Showdown: Can our Filipino Flash Outshine the Rising Sun? (WEIGH-IN PHOTOS)
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 15 Mar 2026
  • USA Boxing Youth High Performance Team Wins Five of Eight Bouts on Day Six
    , Sun, 15 Mar 2026
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander surpasses Chamberlain's record of 127 consecutive NBA games with 20 points or more
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Sun, 15 Mar 2026
  • World-Ranked Light Heavyweight Najee Lopez Stops Mexican Terminator Manuel Gallego in Eight Classic Rounds in Main Event of ProBoxTV’s ‘The Contender Series’
    , Sat, 14 Mar 2026
  • Weigh-in from Highland Boxing in Bangkok, Thailand; Dologuin in Action (WEIGH-IN PHOTOS)
    , Sat, 14 Mar 2026
  • Oval rules 35th CityHeights slugfest
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sat, 14 Mar 2026
  • Sims vs. Barboza and Dickens vs. Cacace Headline Doubleheader on DAZN
    By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 14 Mar 2026
  • Rubilen Amit sustains amazing run of victories at WPBA Pool in New York
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Sat, 14 Mar 2026
  • Weights Set in Anaheim: Barboza Jr. and Sims Jr. Ready for Welterweight War; Collazo Defends Titles
    , Sat, 14 Mar 2026




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2026 philboxing.com.