World title bid crushed as Ancajas falls to Inoue in 9th round

TOKYO, Japan – Hoping to regain his world championship status, Jerwin Ancajas instead got stopped for the first time in his career.

Ancajas saw his bid to wrest the World Boxing Association bantamweight title from Takuma Inoue crushed as he suffered a ninth-round knockout loss at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, February 24.

Regarded as the lighter puncher of the two, Inoue landed a perfect body shot that floored the Filipino challenger.

“It (knockout) was a big surprise. I was ready to go the full route,” said Inoue, who regards Ancajas as the best fighter he has ever faced.

Engaging the Japanese champion to a slugfest, the Filipino fell on his knees with a minute left in the ninth round, unable to withstand a string of brutal body shots from Inoue.

The loss marked the third in four fights for Ancajas, who failed to regain lost glory after giving up the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight belt he owned for six years when he bowed to Fernando Martinez in 2022.

Ancajas fell to a 34-4-2 win-loss-draw card, while Inoue hiked his record to 19-1 as he picked up just his fifth knockout victory.

The younger brother of undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya, Inoue successfully defended his WBA title for the first time despite his own concerns.

“I knew coming in tonight that my opponent was going to be the best ever. I was really worried until today,” said Inoue. “I did not really know what to expect and I did not want to bore the audience going into full rounds.”

Inoue proved to be faster than the former IBF super flyweight champion and was ahead on all three scorecards when the fight was stopped with 44 seconds to go in the ninth round.

Ancajas said it was the first time, including sparring, that he got felled by a body shot.

“I couldn’t breathe. It was perfectly timed,” said Ancajas, who bared that he can still feel the pain at the dugout.

Earlier on Saturday, Filipino veteran Jonas Sultan also sustained a stoppage loss as he fell prey to Japanese Riku Masuda in a surprising first-round knockout. – with a report from Delfin Dioquino/Rappler.com