‘Pretty Boy’ beats Sultan by unanimous decision in All-Filipino world title bout
It wasn’t a walk in the park but Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas managed to retain his International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight title after scoring a unanimous decision victory against Jonas “Zorro” Sultan in a historic All-Filipino world-title showdown yesterday at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.
Although the 26-year-old Ancajas from Panabo City, Davao del Norte successfully defended his title for five straight times now, this bout against Sultan proved to be his toughest one as it went the distance with his foe being the aggressor for most part of the fight.
But in the end, the composed Ancajas still emerged winner, earning the nod of all three judges. Jonathan Davis and Zac Young scored it 119-109 while Daniel Sandoval scored it 117-111 all for Ancajas.
Ancajas, thus, improved his record to 30-1-1 (win-loss-draw) while Sultan of ALA Boxing Gym dropped to 14-4-0.
It was his fifth title defense for Ancajas but the first to go the full 12 rounds. He knocked out his four previous challengers in defending the IBF world super flyweight title since winning it last year against American McJoe Arroyo in Manila.
Composed Ancajas
Sultan, also 26 years old, knew what he was up against and so was the aggressor in the bout, charging Ancajas with wild overhands.
Ancajas kept his composure and established a good range to keep his challenger at bay. He also landed crisp jabs and finished it with a couple of straights.
Sultan had difficulties in breaking Ancajas’ range and distance in the first four rounds until he caught the champion with clean overhands and hooks in the ensuing rounds.
However, as the bout went the distance, it was clear that Ancajas had full control of the bout and was able to dodge and defend himself against Sultan’s barrage of punches. He was also able to land counter punches to the body while Sultan tried to engage him in a brawl.
Ancajas wisely became more aggressive in the last two rounds, landing combinations against Sultan, who desperately threw wild overhands and hooks, hoping to land one that could salvage a knockout victory.
But he failed, thus giving Ancajas the victory in this historic fight.
This was the second all-Filipino world title showdown and the first after 93 years when Pancho Villa defeated Clever Sencio in 1925 in Manila for the world flyweight title.
A third all-Filipino world title showdown is on the offing with three-division world champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes set to face Aston “Mighty” Palicte for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) world super flyweight title some time this year.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
