Ancajas raring for fight after series of delays

FILE – Jerwin Ancajas of the Philippines gestures to fans after defeating Ryuichi Funai of Japan in their 12-round Super Flyweight IBF World Title fight in Stockton, California on May 4, 2019. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino boxing star Jerwin Ancajas doesn’t plan on wasting more time as he hopes to land a fight sooner than later.

Ancajas, the IBF super flyweight champion, arrived in the United States last week and quickly went to work with his trainer and manager Joven Jimenez.

“There’s been a lot of obstacles over the last few months trying to get here to the US with his visa but I want all the fans to know the champ is here and he is looking for a fight,” said MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons in a video he posted on Instagram on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old Ancajas (32-1-2, 22 KOs) was initially set to defend his belt against Mexican challenger Jonathan Rodriguez but the scheduled bout got postponed several times due to visa woes and the coronavirus pandemic.

In his last fight, Ancajas dominated Miguel Gonzalez of Chile in six rounds last December in Mexico to retain his crown for the eighth time.

Gibbons has no doubt that Ancajas is more than ready to pick up where he left off.

“Bring it on—Jonathan Rodriguez, Joshua Franco. Top Rank the champ is here looking for a fight.”

Franco (17-1, 8 KOs), the current WBA (regular) super flyweight champion, is set to face Andrew Moloney in a rematch on Nov. 14 in the US.