Ancajas hangs on against Rodriguez to retain IBF belt

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

Jerwin Ancajas put on a strong defense of his International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior bantamweight title after slugging it out with a tough Javier Rodriguez of Mexico, 115-112, 116-111, and 117-110.

Despite a two-year hiatus for the Filipino champion, Ancajas did not show any signs of rust after hounding the Mexican pug in the early rounds of the bout.

It was a dominant outing for Ancajas after hitting Rodriguez with clean jabs and power shots which led to a commanding scorecard run.

Ancajas’ momentum began to snowball in the middle rounds after finally breaking Rodriguez’s distance and consistently hit him with powerful right straights throughout the match.

During the eighth round, both fighters began to trade power punches after Rodriguez was tied to the ropes.

It turned out to be the Mexican’s biggest nightmare after suffering a knockdown when Ancajas threw two successive clean leftie bombs.

Rodriguez then showed signs of life after attempting to get back in the next four rounds of the championship match with his aggressiveness and connected more than Ancajas but was not enough to take away the Filipino’s belt.

“For me, this is the toughest defense. I’m also shocked that he got knocked down, because Rodriguez is tough,” said Ancajas.