Ancajas to rely on speed, power vs Japanese foe

Jerwin Ancajas. Photo by Mark Giongco

Filipino boxing champion Jerwin Ancajas vowed to put on his best performance yet against a sturdy opponent in Japanese-Korean Teiru Kinoshita on July 2 in Brisbane, Australia.

Ancajas will defend his IBF junior bantamweight title against mandatory challenger Kinoshita in the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Jeff Horn main event.

“We’ve really prepared hard for this fight and you can expect that we’re going to give a great performance,” said the soft-spoken Ancajas in Filipino on Tuesday during the Philippine Sportswriters Association at Golden Phoenix Hotel in Pasay City.

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Joven Jimenez, Ancajas’ trainer and manager, said they have been training for the bout since mid February two weeks after Ancajas’ win over Jose Alfredo Rodriguez of Mexico last January 29 in Macau.

Jimenez said Kinoshita may be taller, older and more experienced than his prized ward, but Ancajas believes he’s quicker and stronger.

“He (Kinoshita) is a typical Korean fighter who has a solid chin,” Jimenez said.

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“He’s a stylist and is a good counter puncher. We focused our training to develop my speed and power and I think those are my advantages over him,” Ancajas, who started training when he was 9-years-old, told INQUIRER.net.

The 25-year-old Ancajas, who hails from Panabo, Davao del Norte, has the numbers to prove he has power in his fists with 17 of his 26 wins coming off knockouts against only one loss and one draw.

Kinoshita owns almost like a similar record as Ancajas with 25-1-1, he only has eight KOs.

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Ancajas’ camp leaves for Brisbane on Saturday. Jimenez said it’s important for Ancajas to get himself acclimatized with the cold weather.

Ancajas, who currently weighs at 121 six pounds shy from meeting the required 115-pound limit, refused to give any predictions but stressed he’s focused on winning and not about going for a knockout.

“The knockout will come. We’re just thinking about the kind of strategy we’re going to use in the fight. But if there’s an opportunity to go for the knockout, we’re going to go for it.”