Ancajas makes a triumphant boxing return vs Uruguayan foe

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipino boxing superstar Jerwin Ancajas wouldn’t be denied during his highly anticipated boxing return on US soil after outpointing Uruguay’s Ruben Casero in their super bantamweight clash on August 3, 2025, at the Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California.

The former super flyweight champion of the world piled up the points to secure a majority decision victory, a verdict that stunned everybody after a predicted unanimous decision dub.

Despite the surprising result after one judge scored the bout as a tie, Ancajas was still able to earn the nod of the two judges and extended his winning streak to three consecutive victories.

Ancajas immediately dictated the tempo of the fight after sending warning body shots to the Uruguayan who liked to hound and amp up the pressure.

After 40 seconds of moving forward, Ancajas slowed down Casero’s activity after landing four straight body punches that hurt the challenger.

Casero flinched and ducked after the fourth body shot, and the Filipino sensed blood by connecting on his crisp jabs to end the opener on a high note.

Ancajas made it look simple after sticking to his game plan of setting up on-point jabs for his three-punch combinations, a sequence that became a nightmare for Casero until the final frame.

Casero tried to mix things up, cutting Ancajas’ jab distance by stepping two steps ahead, throwing wild haymakers but his attempts were all neutralized by the more experienced pug’s footwork.

Although he tagged Ancajas with some counterpunches, those hits weren’t enough to help him turn things around in the final three rounds.

Ancajas wrapped up the last two rounds in a dominant fashion after sending a flurry of jabs that blinded Casero momentarily. After getting out of the ropes, the fighter from Uruguay rushed towards him in desperation, but his careless tactics would go to no avail.

In the last round, Ancajas fought a clever brand of boxing by going back to his body shots followed by a thunderous right jab. He then dropped the final exclamation point in the final 25 seconds with a four-punch combination that sealed the deal.

According to Manny Pacquiao (MP) Promotions president Sean Gibbons, Ancajas’ win over Casero will be enough to secure him a title fight.