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Philippines, 20 Feb 2026 |
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COSTA: AWESOME! KAZUTO IOKA VS JERWIN ANCAJAS IN TOKYO; WHO WILL WIN? (ANALYSIS) By Carlos Costa PhilBoxing.com Fri, 26 Nov 2021  This fight is so cool!! World champions Kazuto Ioka and “Pretty Boy” Jerwin Ancajas will engage in hot battle to unify the IBF & WBO super flyweight crowns on New Year’s eve in Tokyo; and what a special holiday gift this is for boxing fans who wonder who will emerge victorious? I can imagine that it will be an outstanding clash because of the superb quality of the two combatants. Two times I have seen Kazuto Ioka (27-2, 15 KO's) from ringside and I have been impressed. First, I saw him 3 years ago in Macao when Kazuto lost a close fight against the great Donnie "Ahas" Nietes. It was a competitive technical clash won by the Donnie via split decision. Then, I attended Kazuto's defense in Tokyo against Pinoy challenger Aston Palicte, and absolutely yes, Kazuto Ioka was outstanding, soundly stopping the tough Palicte in ten rounds, proving once again the kind of fantastic fighter he is: strong, skilled, experienced, smart.  Jerwin Ancajas lands hard on Japanese Ryuichi Funai. Fans wonder if Kazuto Ioka Will be punished the same way. But the Filipino “Pretty Boy” Jerwin Ancajas (33-1-1, 22 KO's) is pretty terrific too! At 29 years of age, three years younger that the Nippon star, Ancajas aims to soundly defeat Kazuto Ioka in his own backyard, to become the unified IBF/WBO super flyweight world champion, giving himself the very best present in this holiday season. In my mind, I see this exciting Ioka vs Ancajas collision unfolding as a highly technical, very strategic battle, both men using their jabs as they usually do so efficiently, landing well-timed combinations, but never neglecting their defense as they are both aware of their opponent's proven abilities. In fact, even though both men can hit hard, they are not raw brawlers. Not at all. They are both tactical fighters who wage battle completely calmed, cool and collected, studying their opponent’s weakness, checking them out, testing them, finding openings in their defense so as to take advantage later on with their superior, sound, effective, boxing skills. Absolutely. In my mind, I don't imagine that this is going to be as an all-out war from the first bell. I'd bet that it will be an intense chess match, and it’s going to be fantastic: boxing at its best, entertaining and highly competitive. Sure, there will be thrilling moments of superb intensity, as result of tough exchanges. We can be so sure of that. But I see this fighting encounter going the 12 rounds distance, of course, I could be wrong, To me, both Kazuto and Jerwin are intelligent, technical boxers with high IQ and effective styles with lots of class, and fans will enjoy it in Japan. Regarding the point of Jerwin going all the way to Ioka's hometown, well, how many times had Jerwin rumbled against opponents behind enemy lines? Yeah,, many. Ancajas going to his fighting partner’s backyard is OK with him. He has grown used to it. It's normal to him. It will not be a problem for the Pretty Boy to be in his best fighting mode in the great Land of the Rising Sun. Importantly, at 29 years of age, Jerwin has arrived to the primetime of his boxing career with a wealth of valuable fighting experience, plus he has got more and more accurate and precise with his body attack. We can remember the way Jerwin dismantled Japanese Teiru Kinoshita with that body shot bomb in round 7 some years ago. Since then, Jerwin has further improved his body attack technique, which could be key in his New Year's eve war.  (L-R): Trainer Joven Jimenez, Jerwin Ancajas, Promoter Sean Gibbons and this Philboxing reporter during a boxing event in Malaysia in 2018. In addition to experience and body attacks, precision and timing will be important tools that the Pinoy will have to make good use of against Kazuto Ioka, a man who is one of the three brightest and most popular stars in Japan's boxing (the other two are world champs "The Monster" Naoya Inoue and Ryota Murata). Kazuto Ioka vs Jerwin Ancajas... indeed, what a great way to finish the year. The winner will get a sky-rocketing super boost to his boxing career by becoming a unified IBF/WBO 115-pound world champion, positioning perfectly for even more thrilling and lucrative wars for 2022, perhaps wars against Nicaraguan star Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez or Mexican WBA king Juan Francisco "El Gallo" Estrada for complete super flyweight supremacy. There's a lot to win. But who will the winner be? In my mind, this is going to be one super competitive fight that I guess will go the distance with the fighter from Davao coming on top by points, edging the amazing Nippon 4 division champ. But that is just my guess. And who do you pick? May the Best Man Win.!! #iokaancajas The author Carlos Costa is a Philboxing reporter with a lifetime passion for the sport of boxing. Carlos can be reached at carlos512@hotmail.com and whatsapp/viber +639184538152. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Carlos Costa.  |
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