MANILA – Filipino boxer Jerwin Ancajas will once again be staking his IBF world super flyweight belt.
He battles Mexican Alejandro Santiago on Friday night (today, Saturday morning in Manila) at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
This will be Ancajas’ sixth defense of the championship he snatched from Puerto Rican veteran McJoe Arroyo on September 2016 at the Philippine Marine Corp. in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
Despite being the favored fighter in the match, Ancajas said he is not resting his laurels. Barrios has a different style in throwing combinations on opponents, he explained.
“Magaling bumato ng kumbinasyon si Barrios,” Ancajas said. “Napanood ko ‘yung mga past fights niya sa Youtube. Medyo mga pili ang suntok niya. Risky na ina-underestimate siya.”
Added Ancajas: “Pinaghandaan naming mabuti ang laban. Ginawa namin ang mga bagay na hindi namin dati ginagawa.”
Early this year Ancajas successfully defended his world title against fellow Filipino fighter Jonas Sultan.
Barrios, for his part, said he is more than prepared to pull off an upset against Ancajas and had trained for three months and studied his opponent well for the world title clash.
“I don’t mind the underdog tag or our difference in fighting style,” Barrios said through an interpreter. “I have trained in Tijuana for the past three months and had sparred with four boxers so I am prepared to snatch the belt.”
The Panabo City, Davao del Norte-native fighter will be parading an impressive 30-1-1 win-loss-draw ring record, including 20 KO wins, while Barrios has 16-2-4 slate, with seven stoppage wins.
The Ancajas-Barrios match, promoted by Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum, will be shown live starting at 10 a.m. today at the ESPN Channel 5./PN
