REDONDO BEACH, Calif.?Fiery in the ring, Jerwin Ancajas is in reality a gentle, emotional soul.
Surrounded by compatriots and flanked by a Filipino opponent in a meet and greet session Saturday morning, Ancajas remembered the old times when he wasn?t a world champion yet, just a struggling fighter eager to penetrate the elite circle.
Now that he?s on top, Ancajas feels the hardships the other boxers have to endure, including his mandatory challenger, Jonas Sultan.
Composed at the start of a short speech at the Filipino American Community of Los Angeles center, Ancajas choked on his words and shed tears to the appreciation of the crowd that included Americans and Mexicans.
?I also experienced being a challenger,? said Ancajas, ?I don?t want our sacrifices to go to waste. Especially now that we?re helping a lot of boxers.?
Ancajas and his trainer-manager Joven Jimenez have put up Survival Camp in Magallanes, Cavite, where aspiring boxers as well as those seeking second chances find a haven.
That?s why Ancajas promised to pour out everything in his arsenal to keep the title for the fifth straight time, even against a fellow Filipino.
?Sultan is also a good boxer. That?s why we?re trying to find ways to gain even a small advantage,? said Ancajas. ?It will be a battle of the brains as well as who connects first. On this fight, I will unleash all my skill and experience.?
Ancajas has an added motivation as his wife is five months pregnant with their third child. And after two boys a girl is coming soon.
The protagonists, together with three-division world champion Donnie Nietes, trainer Marvin Somodio, and international matchmaker Sean Gibbons were given plaques of recognition by the association headed by Ferdinand Gono.
Present in the affair coordinated by Jhay Otamias and Dr. Ed dela Vega were trainers Edito and Edmon Villamor of ALA Boxing and Joven Jimenez of Joven Sports.
Romero Duno and Mark Anthony Barriga, fresh from convincing victories over Mexican Gilberto Gonzalez and Colombian Gabriel Mendoza, respectively, were also in attendance with former world champion Rodel Mayol, trainer of Duno, former world title contender Warlito Farrenas and Beijing Asian Games gold medalist Roberto Jalnaiz.
Jimenez said the occasion only proves that Filipinos are the king of the 115-pound division.
Both Ancajas and Sultan smiled. They knew that win or lose their parts in boxing history are secured. The first Filipinos to dispute a world title on foreign soil.
There are more than enough reasons for Ancajas to cry.
