JERWIN ANCAJAS won by unanimous decision on Sunday on the strength mainly of a superbly conditioned body.
Had he fought with a half-empty tank, it would have cost him his crown on his ninth defense of the International Boxing Federation junior bantamweight plum he captured in 2016.
I gave him a lopsided 117-100 victory, the same score given by one of the three judges.
I only handed three rounds to Jonathan Rodriguez, the tough challenger from Potosi, Mexico, although he fought so well. Ancajas won most of his nine rounds by the slimmest of margins.
Only in the eighth when Rodriguez suffered the only knockdown in the 12-round title fight did Ancajas clearly win a round, accomplishing it with a barrage of body blows and telling combinations to the face.
Other than that, it was close in practically the rest of the way, with Rodriguez even pocketing the 10th and 11th rounds in a rally that mercifully fell short.
It was only by sheer instinct that Ancajas was able to pull it out of the fire.
“Difficult. One of the toughest fights of my life,” said the 29-year-old Ancajas from Panabo, Davao del Norte, who improved to 33-1-2 with 22 knockouts.
Sturdy knees and a big fighting hear helped him shake off the rust of a long layoff dating back to December 2019.
For Rodriguez, 25, his gallant stand should make him proud as a true Mexican warrior. It was only his second loss against 22 wins, 16 by knockout.
Ancajas was beyond compare to his compatriot Mark Magsayo, who wasn’t only in tip-top shape but came out very much refined in stashing away a smashing knockout win over Pablo Cruz in the 8-round undercard.
While he was a raging bull not too long ago at the sound of the first bell, wanting to devour his foe in an instant, not anymore for the big-time puncher from Bohol.
Now under the wings of the renowned Freddie Roach, Magsayo was now a refined conquistador, deliberate and methodical in destroying his enemy—all the more embellishing his moniker as the “Magnifico.”
Climbing the ring with a 21-3-0 record, with six knockouts, Cruz, against Magsayo, was like a hapless convict being led to the guillotine.
After sizing up Cruz in a getting-to-know you first round, Magsayo quickly went to work in the second round, flooring Cruz with a jab to the face.
In the third, Magsayo decked Cruz again, this time with a thundering left hook with 48 seconds remaining.
Magsayo ended the carnage in the fourth, upping his record to 22 straight wins in 22 fights, with 15 knockouts.
It is just a matter time before Magsayo is crowned a world champion—in league with legends like Flash Elorde and Manny Pacquiao.
THAT’S IT Hideki “Lexus” Matsuyama bucked a meltdown when he nearly blew a six-shot lead to win the Masters by one on Monday, becoming the first Japanese—and Asian for that matter—to win golf’s most prestigious tournament in its 85th edition. A third-round 65 gave cushion to a final-round 73 as Matsuyama had the luxury of bogeying the 18th to escape with the one-stroke victory over Will Zalatoris of Dallas, Texas. Matsuyama pocketed $2.7 million. Kampai!