By REYNALD MAGALLON
Jerwin Ancajas looks to defy odds as he guns for boxing glory against Japanese title holder Takuma Inoue in their World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight championship bout on Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo.
There was no sense of hostility between Inoue and Ancajas in their first face-off during the pre-fight press conference but that is expected to change when their fists finally cross above the ring.
Both fighters easily made the 118-pound limit with both Inoue and Ancajas tipping the scales at 117 ¾ lbs.
Takuma, the younger brother of undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue, faces an acid test in first title defense against Ancajas who he deemed as ‘the best boxer he will ever face’.
“I want to be focused. I want to fight until the end and I want to win the fight,” said Inoue who sports a record of 18-1 slate with only four knockouts.
Despite being favored to win, Inoue certainly has enough reasons to be wary of the Filipino challenger who is armed with experience and proven knockout prowess evident on his 34-3-2 record with 23 stoppages.
“This time I’m very hungry for this, the Philippines has no world champion right now. That’s why I’m so hungry and also want to win this fight,” said the Filipino southpaw during the press conference.
The pride of Panabo, Davao City is no stranger to the bright lights of the world stage, having fought in 12 title fights already in his career — most of which came during his reign as the IBF junior bantamweight champion from 2016 to 2022.
The 32-year-old, however, suffered back-to-back losses to Fernando Martinez that cost him the title but since then bounced back and made a successful return with a knockout win over Wilner Soto last year.
Inoue, on the other hand, is only fighting for his third title fight of his career against Ancajas.
His lone defeat came in a loss in his first title fight against Frenchman Nordine Oubaali in 2019 but since then won his next five fights including the unanimous decision win over Liborio Solis to win the then-vacant bantamweight crown.
Meanwhile, also set to see action in the Inoue-Ancajas undercard is another Filipino in Jonas Sultan who will be facing Japanese foe Riko Masuda in an eight-rounder bantamweight bout.
Sultan, who once challenged Ancajas but lost in 2018, is determined to win in hopes of earning a shot at a world title eliminator.
