JERWIN Ancajas has more reason to come prepared for his title defense against Mexican Jonathan Rodriguez this April.
The challenger apparently felt offended as the Ancajas camp is already talking about a possible unification bout with Kazuto Ioka of Japan. Rodriguez gets his shot at long-time reigning International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-flyweight champion three months from now.
The 29-year-old Ancajas saw the series of messages posted by Rodriguez on his Facebook post about the Mexican being upset by talk of the unification plan, and that he is looking forward to spoiling the party by beating the Filipino at all cost.
That was not lost on Ancajas as he addressed the issue in an interview on Joven Sports YouTube channel.
“Parang nalungkot siya (Rodriguez) kasi nga may haka-haka na mag-unify ako kay Ioka kaya nag-post siya sa Facebook,” said the champion, who holds a 32-1 (22KOs) record and currently trains in Los Angeles with trainer Joven Jimenez and sparring partner Jonas Sultan.
“Naghintay din naman kasi siya ng matagal kasi nga opportunity nga ito.”
But Manny Pacquiao (MP) Promotions President Sean Gibbons made the assurance that Rodriguez will be Ancajas' priority as he finally gets back in the ring after more than a year of inactivity.
Final details of the long-delayed Ancajas-Rodriguez title fight will be announced within the week.
With Rodriguez (22-1, 16 KOs) having added motivation to dethrone the IBF title holder, Ancajas knows he has to train well for his ninth defense of the 115-lbs crown.
“Itong laban na ito talagang pag-eensayuhan ko,” he said. “Alam ko gustong-gusto niya (Rodriguez) na makakuha ng opportunity (for the title).”
Ancajas’ title defense against Rodriguez has been two years in the making, having been postponed twice already.
It was initially called off in November 2019 after the 25-year-old challenger failed to secure a US visa.
Reset to April 2020, the bout didn’t push through as well following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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