By Dennis Principe
Aside from Manny Pacquiao, is also in Australia to defend the country’s boxing honor is 25-year-old southpaw Jerwin Ancajas.
Ancajas (26-1-1, 17 knockouts) arrived in Brisbane last weekend and is raring to defend his IBF world superflyweight crown against Japanese contender Teiru Kinoshita.
Ancajas’ road to the championship is your typical ‘one for the books’ story, specifically when he was preparing for his aim to snatch the IBF crown from defending champion McJoe Arroyo of Puerto Rico.
With the title fight set in the country, Ancajas felt he was getting all the support from his handlers and would get more as soon as he starts his training camp.
But Ancajas got the surprise of his life when no boxing gym was seemingly ready to open their doors for the country’s next world title challenger, until they end up in a hilly area in Tanay, Rizal.
While Team Ancajas was able to discover a good, elevated place to set up their training camp, they faced a major problem as the place had no boxing ring.
“We had no time to look for another gym so we had to find ways how to maximize the place,” said Ancajas’ trainer and manager Joven Jimenez.
And maximize they did as Jimenez started to place a mat atop the flat but grassy area of the lot then used several twisted-type synthetic ropes to complete a makeshift boxing ring in the said place owned by Marc Soong of Jaguar Philippines.
“We maintained our focus on our main objective. Getting a title shot was a chance of a lifetime so we had to give our all no matter what the situation was,” said Jimenez.
That challenging situation, coupled with the fact that he was getting crumbs for the title shot, turned out to be obstacles Ancajas were able to hurdle after he entered the ring in championship form the night of September 3, 2016 at the Jurado Hall of the Philippine Marine Corp in Taguig City.