Photo by Roy Luarca/INQUIRER
BRISBANE, Australia—Driven by poverty when he won the International Boxing Federation crown, Jerwin Ancajas is now ready to bring his act to the global stage.
Ancajas will be staking his title against Japanese Teiru Kinoshita in the chief support of “Battle of Brisbane” on Sunday.
Religiously following the training regimen charted by trainer/manager Joven Jimenez, Ancajas checked in at 114 pounds Saturday, a full pound lighter than Kinoshita.
“I’m ready for war,” Ancajas, who totes a 26-win, 1-loss, 1-draw card with 17 knockouts, said upon the arrival of his team at Sofitel Hotel Sunday night.
Kinoshita is a dangerous foe with an almost similar record to Ancajas (25-1-1 ) topped by eight knockouts.
A native of Panabo, Davao Del Norte, Ancajas has moved his wife and two children to a one-bedroom unit in Imus, Cavite, where Jimenez owns a gym.
Though he earned a measly $3,750 when he dethroned McJoe Arroyo last September, Ancajas received an additional P500,000 from Sen. Manny Pacquiao because he’s under the wings of MP Promotions.
The 25-year-old Ancajas promised not to let his benefactor down.
Jonel Dapidran, a cousin of Manny Pacquiao on his mother’s side, will also see action in the undercard of
“Battle of Brisbane,” which will be beamed live in the United States by way of ESPN and 30 other countries.
Only 19 years old, the 5-foot-9 Dapidran, who holds an 8-win, 1-loss card with 4 knockouts, will tangle with Australian Brent James in a light welterweight encounter.
Dapidran, a three-year-pro, said he’s ready to repay the trust of Pacquiao.