FILE–Former IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas. –Steve Marcus/Getty Images/AFP
MANILA, Philippines–A comfortable Jerwin Ancajas on Saturday made weight ahead of his super bantamweight bout against Colombia’s Wilner Soto at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
After struggling to make weight in his last couple of fights as a super flyweight, Ancajas tipped the scales trouble-free at 121.8 pounds while Soto came in exactly a pound lighter.
Ancajas (33-3-2, 22KOs) is fighting at the 122-pound division for the first time after spending much of his career at the 115-pound class where he was the IBF champion for a long time.
The 31-year-old Ancajas claimed the belt in September 2016 when he beat McJoe Arroyo of Puerto Rico and went on to make nine successful defenses.
His reign, however, came to an end at the hands of Argentina’s Fernando Martinez in February 2022.
He tried to reclaim his crown but lost again to Martinez in their rematch eight months later.
Making weight had been the issue for Ancajas against Martinez but not anymore as he aims to get back on track with a masterful performance in an eight-rounder against Soto.
A victory by Ancajas could put him in line for a title shot next.