MANILA – Filipino boxer Jerwin Ancajas successfully defended his International Boxing Federation (IBF) world super flyweight belt via a unanimous decision win over Mexican Johnathan Rodriguez on Saturday (Sunday in the Philippines) at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, United States of America.
Ancajas – a native of Panabo City, Davao del Norte – showed no ring rust after being away for almost a year as he scored 115-112, 116-111, and 117-110 from all three judges.
Ancajas and Rodriguez both tested themselves in the early goings of the match with the Filipino having a slight edge in terms of aggressiveness but the Mexican had also his opportunities.
The start of the sixth round saw both of them standing toe to toe with Ancajas getting the better end of the exchanges as he connected hard shots to the body of the opponent.
It was still the same tempo for both fighters in the seventh round until Ancajas knocked down Rodriguez at the latter part of the eighth round with a right straight to the body punch but the latter managed to get up.
Following that fall, Rodriguez had a better showing in the late rounds as Ancajas was showing signs of fatigue but the Mexican’s late rally was not enough to turn the bout around.
After his ninth successful title defense, Ancajas improved his record to 33-1-2 including 22 stoppage wins. Rodriguez dropped to 22-2-0 with 16 knockout (KO) wins.
In the undercard, Filipino fighter Mark Magsayo maintained his unblemished slate following a fourth-round stoppage victory over American boxer Pablo Cruz.
Despite being out for almost a year, Magsayo was blazing as he scored a knockdown each in the second and third rounds. The referee halted the game in the fourth as Magsayo scored another knockdown.
With the victory, the 25-year-old Magsayo improved his record to 22-0-0, including 15 stoppage victories, while Cruz saw his record dropped to 21-4-0, with six KO wins./PN
