Jerwin Ancajas, will he be the country’s next world boxing champion after November 15? | Facebook photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Jerwin Ancajas will bid to snatch the World Boxing Association (WBA) world bantamweight crown from champion Takuma Inoue on November 15, 2023, at the Ryogoku Kokugikan National Sumo Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Ancajas, who is also a former world champion, will attempt to unseat Inoue in the latter’s first world title defense.
This will be Ancajas’ first world title bout in a year after losing his International Boxing Federation (IBF) world super flyweight belt to Argentinean Fernando Daniel Martinez in October last year.
READ: Martinez takes IBF super fly belt from champ Ancajas via unanimous decision
The world title clash between Ancajas and Inoue was officially announced by Top Rank earlier this week.
The card will be a double-header world title bout which also features the reigning WBA world flyweight champion Artem Dalakian against Seigo Yuri Akui.
Ancajas is currently training in the United States. He’s been training there for months with fellow Filipino contenders such as Jonas Sultan at the Knuckleheads Boxing Gym in Las Vegas.
The 31-year-old Panabo City native is coming from an impressive fifth-round technical knockout victory against Wilner Soto last June in Minneapolis, United States.
It was Ancajas’ first fight since losing to Martinez.
That victory improved his record to 34 wins, 23 knockouts with three defeats and two draws.
Feared brothers
Meanwhile, Inoue, 27, the younger brother of Japanese superstar and former undisputed bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue won the WBA world title just last April.
He won by unanimous decision against Venezuelan Liborio Solis in Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
It was Inoue’s first world title after he faltered in his attempt to win the WBC world bantamweight strap against Nordine Oubaali in 2019.
He has a relatively younger record than Ancajas with 18-1 (win-loss) with four knockouts. /rcg
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