The big fights continue to elude reigning International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-flyweight king Jerwin Ancajas, who continues to train in Los Angeles despite having no confirmed fight set by Top Rank.
As Ancajas patiently waits for a call from Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, the soon-to-be 29-year-old southpaw is left with no choice but to remain in training mode in case Top Rank finally gives him a date.
The last time Ancajas fought was over a year ago in Puebla, Mexico, when he stopped unknown Chilean challenger Miguel Gonzalez in six rounds.
Ancajas was about to make the ninth defense of the IBF 115-lb crown last April in Las Vegas against Jonathan Rodriguez of Mexico but the world was plunged into lockdown.
Unable to fly out of Manila when cases of the coronavirus began to drop, Ancajas could only hit American shores in October.
By then, Arum’s Top Rank bubble shows in Las Vegas had all been filled up, leaving Ancajas without any option but to wait until the Las Vegas-based company puts its 2021 schedule in motion.
Ancajas (32-1-2 with 22 knockouts) stays in a rented house in Los Angeles alongside his lead trainer and manager Joven Jimenez and sparring partner Jonas Sultan.
While Ancajas struggles to get a fight, the two other champions in the other governing bodies are on a collision course for the second time.
World Boxing Council ruler Juan Francisco Estrada of Mexico and World Boxing Association titlist Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez of Nicaragua are set to trade power punches anew on 13 March in a soon-to-be-named venue.
Estrada (41-3 with 28 knockouts) and Gonzalez (50-2 with 41 knockouts) had met more than eight years ago when they were still lording it over at light-flyweight (108 lbs) with Gonzales earning a decision.
Japanese Kazuto Ioka, the World Boxing Organization titleholder, has other things in mind and it certainly doesn’t include Ancajas.
Sean Gibbons, president of MP Promotions, the Manny Pacquiao-owned outfit, is looking at a March bout for the long-reigning Ancajas, the IBF’s top fighter in the division since 2016.
