FILIPINO world champion Jerwin Ancajas arrived in Connecticut early Wednesday evening, eager to finally get back in the ring after more than a year of absence.
The 29-year-old Ancajas was accompanied by trainer Joven Jimenez and second Brendan Gibbons in the four-hour flight from Los Angeles.
Ancajas will be fighting for the first time since December of 2019 as he stakes his International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-flyweight title belt against Jonathan Rodriguez of Mexico on Sunday (Manila time) at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Ancajas camp has been ready for this long-delayed fight that it tried to somehow unwind before the group took the next flight out of Connecticut.
Ancajas shared a short video of him with Jimenez, Gibbons, and Filipino sparmate Jonas Sultan having a good time dancing to the tune of ‘Rasputin.’
“Pang high morale lang,” said Jimenez when asked about the video posted on Youtube and which already hit 1K views.
Ancajas (32-1, 22 KOs) and Rodriguez (22-1, 16 KOs) were originally set to fight in November 2019, only for the title match to be postponed after the Mexican challenger failed to secure a US visa.
The champion was forced to take on Miguel Gonzalez of Chile at the last minute, scoring a sixth-round stoppage in their 12-round showdown in Mexico a month later to retain his 115-lb crown.
The Ancajas-Rodriguez bout was later moved to April in Las Vegas but had to be cancelled anew following the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19.
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