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ANCAJAS RETAINS BELT AGAINST TOUGH MEXICAN RODRIGUEZ By Dong Secuya PhilBoxing.com Sun, 11 Apr 2021  Jerwin Ancajas of the Philippines successfully retained his IBF superfly title against Jonathan Javier Rodriguez of Mexico at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) but not after going thru the eye of the needle so to speak as Rodriguez showed why he deserved to be Ancajas's mandatory challenger as he gave the defending champion hell throughout the fight. Ancajas dropped Rodriguez in the 8th round and got the nod of all three judges - Tony Paolillo 115-112, Tom Schreck 116-111 and Don Trella 117-110 - for a unanimous decision victory but the scores did not reflect the real flow of the fight as it was close at every round. Fighting in a torrid pace and giving no quarters, both Ancajas and Rodriguez gave as much punches as they received that would have put a packed audience at the edge of their seats had they been around to witness the fight live. At every big punch that Ancajas throws to the body or head of Rodriguez, the Mexican seemed always to have an answer, catching Ancajas with his own combinations that, credit to Jerwin, he always take well. Ancajas whose got a signature body punching ability, used this weapon to the hilt, landing 131 of it at Rodriguez according to Compubox, and it appeared to pay off big time when he finally dropped Rodriguez in the 8th round who at that time seemed to be tiring. In the 9th, Rodriguez was hurt again in the body and and appeared ready to be taken out. But the Mexican held on and kept throwing back punches at Ancajas who by this time had probably used every trick in his repertoire to try to put away Rodriguez. 
Ancajas and Rodriguez go at each other the whole night. The torrid pace continued in the 10th round as Rodriguez kept on going forward absorbing everything Ancajas's bombs and throwing his own combinations in return. In the championship rounds, Ancajas appeared to tire as both fighters seemed to be fighting more by will than skill but still never giving an inch as each was determined to come out the victor and each never stopped throwing punches until the final bell. Perhaps recognizing what they've done and went thru that very night, Ancajas and Rodriguez hugged for a long time right after the fight ended and then again hugged while both kneeling on the canvas and although speaking in different languages, talked for some time. Add this fight to the storied and colorful rivalry between the the Philippines and Mexico atop the ring where many unforgetabble fights happened throughout history. Ancajas later told Jim Gray of Showtime that "this 9th title defense is my most difficult" and gave credit to Rodriguez to have too much heart, touching his chest with his fist. Ancajas also told Gray that he wants to unify the 115 belts if there is an opportunity. Rodriguez, who has become a revelation fighting for the first in America live on a big boxing network Showtime, said afterwards that the scores should have been closer but coming over he expected that the judges would favor the champion. Ancajas now improves his record to 33 wins, 1 loss and 2 draws and has never lost since being waylaid by Mark Anthony Geraldo on March 17, 2012 in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. Rodriguez meanwhile dropped to 22-2-0 and was knocked down for the first time in his career. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.  |
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