Corpus Christi, Texas—While the whole world saw Jerwin Ancajas put on a stellar performance Saturday night, his trainer, Joven Jimenez, begs to differ.
Asked to rate Ancajas’ 10th round knockout of Mexican challenger Israel Gonzalez in their duel for the International Boxing Federation junior bantamweight title, Jimenez said it was worth just a seven.
Pressed for an explanation, the 45-year-old former Navyman and amateur boxer said he felt Ancajas was slower than expected.
“From what I saw, he seemed slow,” said Jimenez. “Especially in the early rounds. Maybe because this fight happened earlier than usual.”
Ancajas’ previous title defense was on Nov. 18 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he stopped Irish Jamie Conlan in six rounds.
Jimenez thinks the ideal space should be at least five months to give the body time to fully recover.
Despite Ancajas scoring a flash knockdown in the first round, Jimenez noticed that his legs were far from bouncy—which startled him considering that Ancajas told him that he was in better form than when he fought Conlan.
“That’s why I ordered him not to go for the knockout and stick to 1-2 combinations. Only in the later rounds that I allowed him to use 2-3-4 combinations,” Jimenez said.
Fact is, Jimenez instructed Ancajas to ease up a bit in the 10th round, but the opportunity presented itself.