SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — From the dais at the press conference on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila), Bob Arum cautioned about Jerwin Ancajas looking past the man he’ll make his sixth title defense against, Mexico’s Alejandro Santiago.
Santiago has made a career outperforming expectations, going to his opponents’ hometowns on several occasions to earn draws, which often in boxing means a win, and no advantage that Ancajas has with the crowd in the heavily-Filipino populated Bay Area will intimidate him.
“I saw the aggression in his eyes,” said Ancajas after the two faced off, just days before they meet on Friday (Saturday in Manila) in an IBF super flyweight title defense streamed live on ESPN+ in the U.S., and broadcast on ESPN5 in the Philippines.
Should Ancajas get past the durable challenger, trainer Joven Jimenez said the plan is to travel to Thailand to watch the next title defense of WBC/Ring Magazine 115-pound kingpin Srisakit Sor Rungvisai against Iran Diaz on October 6. Ancajas and team hope to get him in the ring in the future, though he is likely due for a mandatory rematch against Juan Francisco Estrada.
“Even boxing fans that don’t pay much attention to fighters in this weight category know that this is a tremendous fight,” said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum of a bout between Ancajas and Sor Rungvisai.
“That would create a lot of attention and would be a significant fight to really cement (Ancajas’) career going forward as being a big attraction. Now that we’re with ESPN, we have the financial wherewithal to get that fight done.”
Sor Rungvisai rose to international stardom last year when he ended the unbeaten run of then-pound for pound champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez with a close decision, then followed it up with a fourth round knockout of Gonzalez before outpointing Estrada in an entertaining first bout. A bout between Sor Rungvisai (46-4-1, 41 knockouts) and Ancajas (30-1-1, 20 KOs) would match southpaws with contrasting styles; Sor Rungvisai, the attacking KO puncher, and Ancajas, the calculating counterpuncher.
“We want to fight Sor Rungvisai,” said Ancajas. “If Bob gives me an opportunity like fight Rungvisai, he’s on top in our weight, he’s a star.”
First, Ancajas must get past the 22-year-old Santiago (16-2-4, 7 KOs), who is the no. 14 ranked contender by the IBF. He said he began focusing on boxing after becoming a Taekwondo black belt at age 12, and made his pro debut at age 16. His favorite boxer is Floyd Mayweather Jr., but his style is more aggressive than the unbeaten pay-per-view star.
“(Becoming champion) means everything to me. It’s the dream of every fighter, it’s a dream that I have been dreaming of since I turned pro and I do believe I have the talent to become a champion,” said Santiago.
It’s another big opportunity for Ancajas to make an impression on the Filipino-American community, who were a key component to Manny Pacquiao’s rise to stardom in the United States. The Bay Area is one of the primary hubs of the Fil-Am community, and a few local political figures of Filipino descent were in attendance on Wednesday, including Daly City mayor Juslyn Manalo, and Hydra Mendoza, Deputy Chief of Staff for Education and Equity under San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.
Though he’s tough, matchmaker Sean Gibbons feels Santiago is the sort of opponent whom Ancajas should excel against, reminding the public of Ancajas’ impressive stoppages of Israel Gonzalez and Jamie Conlan and distancing himself from his underwhelming last fight against Jonas Sultan.
“Am I overly concerned? No, because if Jerwin doesn’t beat a guy like this, then what are we doing? We’re not headed for Estrada or Sor Rungvisai, that’s for sure,” said Gibbons, who is scheduled to arrive Wednesday night from the Philippines with MP Promotions’ Joe Ramos.
“Santiago’s no Juan Estrada, and if we’re talking about fighting those guys, he should come out and handle this guy all night.”
