Jerwin Ancajas and Israel Gonzalez (right) put up fighting stance after Friday’s weigh-in. Photo by Roy Luarca/INQUIRER
Corpus Christi, Texas—Making weight is the least of Jerwin Ancajas’ concerns.
A kilo over the limit Thursday night, Ancajas did little workout at his hotel room yet tipped the scales at an ideal 114.75 pounds in the official weigh-in held at American Bank Center Friday afternoon.
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So confident was Ancajas that he’s going to be cleared for his fourth defense of the International Boxing Federation junior bantamweight crown that he did not even look at the registered figure, leaving it to MP Promotions representative Joe Ramos and matchmaker Sean Gibbons.
He smiled and waved at the group of Filipinos in attendance, before leaving the makeshift stage to have his first meal for the day—three hard boiled eggs washed down with warm water.
His opponent, Israel Gonzalez came in lighter at 114, a pound under the limit, and was also cheered on by fellow Mexicans.
“We hit our target,” said chief trainer Joven Jimenez, whose next aim is to bring up Ancajas’ weight on fight night Saturday at the same venue.
READ: Jimenez says Ancajas will put on a show
To do that, Ancajas will eat every three hours, taking bigger servings each time.
According to Jimenez, who supervised Ancajas’ stationery jogging with intermittent burst of speed and improvised “sauna” session, 128 pounds would be ideal, the same weight when Ancajas fought against Japanese Teiru Kinoshita in Brisbane, Australia, and Irish Jamie Conlan, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
In the second weigh-in Saturday morning, however, Ancajas must not go beyond 125 as mandated by the sanctioning body.
Just like in their stare down Thursday, Gonzalez provided some anxious moments when he moved too close and threw a piercing look at Ancajas, who did not blink.
Tension vanished just as quickly when Gonzalez offered a handshake, then patted Ancajas at the back.
Gonzalez’s actuations were not all for show, according to Ancajas, as he could see and feel the Mexican’s determination to wrest the crown he took from Puerto Rican McJoe Arroyo in Taguig in 2016.
“But I won’t let him have it,” said Ancajas, who dreams of being recognized as a great Filipino champion like Pacquiao, the late Flash Elorde and Pancho Villa.