By Nick Giongco
A unification fight in late-August awaits Jerwin Ancajas if he gets past Filipino mandatory challenger Jonas Sultan in their International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-flyweight title fight on May 26 at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California, Top Rank chief Bob Arum said yesterday.
In the undercard, Kal Yafai of Great Britain, the World Boxing Association champion, defends against David Carmona of Mexico and a win will earn him a shot at Ancajas, assuming of course he repulses Sultan.
Arum had initially wanted to stage the Ancajas-Sultan clash, the first all-Filipino world title fight in 100 years, at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, but the Hall of Fame promoter found a better venue.
“If they both win, I would stage a unification fight in late-August or in the fall (autumn),” said Arum, who has a telecast contract with ESPN.
Yafai is of Yemeni lineage and has defended the WBA 115-lb crown twice against japanese contenders.
Ancajas has defended the IBF title five times, the last a tenth-round stoppage of Israel Gonzalez of Mexico last February in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Last year, Ancajas defended against Jose Rodriguez of Mexico in Macau, Teiru Kinoshita of Japan in Brisbane and Jamie Conlan of Northern Ireland in Belfast.
