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CAVITE, Philippines – Jerwin Ancajas is heading stateside for his next title defense.
The 25-year-old from Panabo City, Philippines will put his IBF junior bantamweight title at stake for the 4th time when he faces Israel Gonzalez on February 3, 2018, at the Bank of America Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The fight was announced Saturday, December 16, at a press conference at Island Cove in Kawit, Cavite, the town where Ancajas now makes his residence.
The fight will be the televised in the United States on ESPN as the co-featured bout underneath WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto Ramirez against Habib Ahmed, and will be one of 3 fights in 2018 for Ancajas, said MP Promotions matchmaker Sean Gibbons.
Ancajas (28-1-1, 19 knockouts) is fresh off his 3rd successful defense, a crushing 6th-round stoppage of Jamie Conlan in Belfast, Northern Ireland a month ago.
Gibbons added that Ancajas is “very close to formalizing a deal” with Top Rank, the company which moved Ancajas’ promoter Pacquiao in the United States.
Gonzalez (21-1, 8 KOs) of Los Cabos, Mexico, is also fighting for the first time in the States and will be taking a significant step up from his recent competition. The lone win over a recognizable name on the IBF number 10 ranked contender’s record is a 2016 decision victory over a shopworn Ramon Garcia Hirales, who was once the WBO junior flyweight titleholder.
“What coach [Joven Jimenez] is telling me, don’t let your guard down for anyone, especially those who are being underestimated by others,” said Ancajas. “But for us, we’re not underestimating, instead we’re persevering even more so we can show our skills.
“We all know Mexicans fight really hard, so it’ll be a good fight.”
Gibbons said he’s been down to Mexico twice to see Gonzalez fight and believes the matchup will be tougher due to the lack of footage on Gonzalez.
“Israel Gonzalez, even though he doesn’t have a lot of names on his record, like a lot of Hispanic fighters you’ve got to be careful because they’re very seasoned in Mexico. We believe it’s a good test to see where Jerwin is in his first fight in the US on ESPN,” said Gibbons.
“Just watch Manny Pacquiao against any Mexican and you’ll find out that Mexicans and Filipino match up very well together. One guy is very aggressive, in your face type of style, Jerwin’s very calm, very cool, likes guys to come to him.” – Rappler.com
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