Jerwin Ancajas. Screengrab from ringtv.craveonline.com/
If Jerwin Ancajas intends to make an impact in the international arena, he must not only retain his International Boxing Federation super flyweight crown against Mexican Juan Alfredo Rodriguez this Sunday in Macau.
He must win impressively, either by knockout or shutout.
A win via the short route is a strong possibility, of course, for the 25-year-old southpaw from Panabo City, Davao del Norte.
Prior to wresting the crown from the touted McJoe Arroyo of Puerto Rico in Taguig last September, Ancajas stopped 11 straight opponents en route to a 25-1-1 record.
Ancajas, who’s fighting under the boxing icon Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions, is fortunate to have trained in comfort and quiet at the gym of sportsman-businessman Hermie Esguerra in Lipa City.
He also got three able sparring partners led by former world title contender Drian Francisco.
Accompanied by his manager, Joven Jimenez, and his trainers, Ancajas arrived in Macau from Hong Kong on Wednesday and did light training.
Though installed as the favorite over the 27-year-old Rodriguez, who totes a 32-4 card with 19 knockouts, Ancajas isn’t taking his opponent lightly.
He wants to put up a fight to remember, knowing that it would propel his career to loftier heights and hopefully make him as popular as the late Pancho Villa, Flash Elorde, and, of course, Pacquiao.