Ancajas receives COVID-19 vaccine ahead of IBF title defense against Mexican foe

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

Jerwin Ancajas confirmed that he already got his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in preparation for his International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-flyweight title defense against Jonathan Rodriguez of Mexico.

With three weeks left before the mega-bout, Ancajas and his camp decided to acquire the vaccine to boost the boxing champion’s immune system ahead of the fight.

The prized Filipino slugger took the first dose of Covid vaccine from Pfizer while he is still under training in his camp in Los Angeles and is now confident regarding his health status especially with the tightening of the COVID-19 protocols in the sport.

When asked about the immediate effect of the vaccine, Ancajas said, “Wala naman. Yung normal lang na effect kapag tinurukan ka ng vaccine. Mangangalay lang yung braso mo ng dalawang araw.”

Ancajas is currently in the last stages of the training and is now confident with his conditioning status after months of intensive training.

“At the end of the day, Jerwin is a champion now for five years, so I see him winning possibly later in the fight, he’ll just break him (Rodriguez) down as he does to most of his opponents. He’s just like a surgeon, he slowly breaks them down,” said Ancajas’ promoter, Manny Pacquiao (MP) promotions president Sean Gibbons.