Can’t Ancajas become a national treasure?

Jonas Sultan of the ALA Stable in Cebu did his handlers proud as he put up a strong and rugged stand, fighting like a very difficult bull, during the Pinoy vs Pinoy corrida in Fresno, California, on Sunday.

Sultan, 26, was not classy.  But he nonetheless delivered a solid performance against the celebrated IBF junior bantamweight champion Jerwin Ancajas.

Sultan, the loser, also had the luxury of raising his hands like a victor after the final bell.

Ancajas, 26, made a successful fifth defense of his world 115-pound title.

Ancajas, who arrived at the fight venue with sirens blazing, however failed to deliver as billed. His face was puffed in the end.

It was not exactly pretty, reported veteran boxing chronicler Ryan Songalia of ESPN.com.

Songalia also noted fans were restless and often rained boos during the main event.

Didn’t Ancajas fall a victim to an overdose of prefight hype?

Philboxing.com founder and chief editor Dong Secuya was quick to report about displeasure and disappointment from ringside.

He said fans started heading for the exits starting the second half of the dull 12-round match.

There were cheap attempts at projecting a perfect performance from Ancajas.

But the champ was first to admit he was below par and was not very pleased with himself. Ancajas said he was giving himself a score of 7 in a scale of 10.

His chief handler, Joven Jimenez, disagreed and scored it a poor 6 (in a scale of 10).

Ancajas was sluggish, predictable; he often slammed big punches.

Ancajas blamed his tough and peppery Filipino foe.

Jimenez, the trainer, said he didn’t know what went wrong.

Lazy Ancajas was visibly shallow, overfed.