Jonas “Zorro” Sultan
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former world title challenger Jonas “Zorro” Sultan has barged into the top 10 rankings of the World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight division.
Sultan, the 29-year old pride of Tampilisan, Zamboanga del Norte, is now ranked No. 9 in the WBA’s stacked bantamweight division.
The biggest contributing factor for his impressive climb in the world rankings was his stunning knockout victory against American Sharone Carter last August 14 in the undercard of Johnriel Casimero versus Guillermo Rigondeaux’s world title duel.
The fight was held at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson City, California.
Sultan, the former ALA Boxing Gym stalwart, knocked out Sharone in the seventh round of their scheduled 8-round non-title showdown.
The win improved his record to 17 wins with 11 knockouts along with five defeats.
The division’s current champion is no other than Japanese Naoya “Monster” Inoue while the top three contenders are Raushee Warren of the United States, Gary Antonio Russell, and Ghana’s Manyo Plange.
Sultan has been in the United States for quite some time now. He was Casimero’s sparring partner when the latter prepared for the Rigondeaux bout.
He now serves as the sparring partner of Jimuel Pacquiao, the son of Senator Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, who has a scheduled exhibition bout with YouTuber Boy Tapang on September 30 in an undisclosed venue.
Sultan rose to boxing stardom in the Philippines when he defeated Casimero for the IBF world super flyweight title eliminator in 2017 in Cebu City via unanimous decision.
He earned a world title shot versus the reigning IBF world super flyweight champion and fellow Filipino Jerwin Ancajas in 2018 but lost via unanimous decision in a fight held in the United States. /rcg
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