Jerwin Ancajas of the Philippines watches after dropping Israel Gonzalez of Mexico in their junior bantamweight fight Sunday (Manila time) at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA. Photo taken from Top Rank Boxing’s Twitter account (@trboxing)
The chief handler of Jerwin Ancajas has given the new Filipino boxing sensation a grade of 7 (in a scale of 10) for his successful defense of the IBF super flyweight crown in Texas on Sunday.
Trainer Joven Jimenez made minor observations, but did not give specifics on necessary changes and improvements.
It fell on Timothy Bradley Jr., three-time foe of Manny Pacquiao, to deliver details on areas Ancajas should work on. Bradley said Ancajas has a lot more room to improve.
As quoted by veteran sports columnist Joaquin Henson, Bradley said Ancajas “should vary his punches and throw more uppercuts.”
Bradley added: “You don’t want to be predictable; he fought straight up, I want to see more movement. I don’t mean out side-to-side. He should try shifting his balance laterally to create angles and openings. He should throw feints.”
Bradley, who was a member of the broadcast team that worked the championship card for ESPN, said that, on the whole, Ancajas has an impressive showing in his US debut: “He’s got tremendous potential, will definitely go far.”
Asked on what he honestly thought about his performance last Sunday, Ancajas himself refused to comment, saying he would leave judgment on Filipino fans.
Promoter Bob Arum said Ancajas had a convincing and impressive performance. “I’m happy that I made him happy,” Ancajas said.
There was no disputing the grandness of his triumph, but it could not be denied that there were also fans who were not wholly thrilled.
These fans could not be blamed. They had obviously been swayed by the loud pre-fight hype about the coming of another Manny Pacquiao.
At least, Ancajas himself had refused to be swayed by the exciting prefight comments and publicity.
Said Dr. Rene Bonsubre, tested ring physician and respected boxing scholar: “Ancajas is a technical fighter and his methodical style works for him. He’s not the unstoppable force of nature that Manny Pacquiao was at in his prime.”
Dr. Bonsubre praised Ancajas for handling the pressure and the overwhelming media attention.
A final advice: “He should not change the way he fights just to please the casual fans.”