BY NICK GIONGCO
JERWIN Ancajas bombarded Chilean challenger Miguel Gonzales with head and body shots for five rounds before stopping him in the sixth round to retain the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-flyweight crown Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) at the Auditorio GNP Seguros in Puebla, Mexico.
Making the eighth defense of the IBF 115-lb plum he won more than three years ago, Ancajas compelled referee Wayne Hedgpeth to call a halt to the one-sided contest at 1:53 of the round as Gonzalez was visibly hurt.
Gonzalez engaged Ancajas from rounds one to three but he began to fade in the fourth frame as his seasoned rival upped his work rate.
The victory raised Ancajas record to 32-1-2 with 22 KOs while the setback dropped Gonzalez’s mark to 31-3 with eight KOs.
Ancajas was supposed to meet Jonathan Gonzalez last Nov. 2 in Carson, California, but the Mexican opponent did not show up in time, forcing Top Rank to scrap the fight.
Next year, Ancajas is looking forward to bigger fights with Juan Francisco Estrada of Mexico, regarded as the top banana in the division, as his main target.
Over in Brooklyn, New York, it was not the case with ex-world champion Marlon Tapales, who suffered an 11th round knockout at the hands of Japanese Ryosuke Iwasa in their battle for the interim IBF super-bantam plum.
A left to the jaw sent Tapales down and while he was able to get up, the referee decided to pull the plug as the Filipino was visibly unsteady.
