IT is said that it?s bad to compare. But my friends keep comparing Jerwin Ancajas to Manny Pacquiao.
It?s been quite a while since we?ve seen a Filipino boxer fight for a world crown.
Sadly, Pacquiao wasn?t in his peak form anymore when he staked?and lost?his world welterweight title to Jeff Horn a while back in Brisbane, Australia.
So that when we were given a chance to watch Ancajas in action (thank you very much to TV 5 for giving us all the opportunity to watch Ancajas fight live?for free), we were all giddy and oozing with predictions.
Is Ancajas good? Is he really a world champion? Since his three previous defenses were by resounding knockouts, did that readily make him an honest-to-goodness world king? In short, is he for real? Will he also stop the fourth challenger to his world flyweight crown? If so, how many rounds? I predicted an early knockout victory for Ancajas.
This, despite a rather impressive 21-1, win-loss record that Israel Gonzalez, the Mexican challenger, was waving on fight night in Corpus Christi, Texas, some three weeks ago (Feb. 4).
But still, I thought so seriously that Gonzalez would be no match against Ancajas.
For one, Gonzalez is a raw 21-year-old. Not even a single foe among his 21 victims was credentialed. He only had 8 KO wins.
In contrast, Ancajas held a 28-1-1 card going into the fight, with 19 KOs. He is 26, an age ripe enough to make a boxer wise to ways of beak-busting.
Ancajas proved that right in the first round.
With a blinding left to the face, Ancajas floored Gonzalez just seconds gone in the first round.
With that, will lefty Ancajas end it earlier than expected? Not quite.
That?s where he separated himself from Pacquiao.
Unlike Pacquiao, who would quickly devour his prey at the slightest opportunity, Ancajas would display patience seldom seen from a fighter seemed set to win it lightning quick.
It took him nine more rounds before he would knock Gonzalez out in 1:50 of the 10th?almost an eternal wait, yes, but it was a well-applauded tactic that earned him plaudits from even the most grizzled pundits.
Ancajas had none of the Pacquiao savagery, only a lion?s class of feasting on a pure, unadulterated lunch, piece by piece, until the final piece of meat is finally swallowed. Slow but sure.
