FOR a while, Mexican challenger Israel Gonzales looked like he would deny Jerwin Ancajas a spectacular show on American soil.
But Ancajas patiently and methodically worked his way to a grand finish, stopping the Mexican via a technical knockout (TKO) in the 10th of their 12-round bout to retain his International Boxing Federation (IBF) superflyweight title before a stunned crowd on Sunday (Manila time) at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
“Hindi ko inexpect na makapanalo ng knockout dahil naramdaman ko na determinado rin ang kalaban ko,” said Ancajas, who admitted to carrying the pressure of being compared with his idol, eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao.
“Pag naiisip ko na ikinukumpara ako kay sir Manny, sinisikap ko talaga na kahit konti man lang maging katulad ako kay sir Manny.”
And he made sure Gonzales felt that, too.
The challenger sat down on his pants after receiving a solid left hook to his jaw from Ancajas right in the first round. That knockdown easily gave Ancajas a 10-8 advantage.
From then on, Gonzales refused to engage with Ancajas who dominated the rest of the rounds with his right jabs, and one-two combinations which came in trickles because the Mexican always maintained a safe distance and waited for the right time to throw his counter.
It never came.
Instead, Ancajas pressed the action all throughout the match until that fateful end with barely a minute gone in the tenth.
Ancajas threw a Pacquiao-like left hook to the jaw of the stunned Gonzales for a knockdown and a mandatory eight-count. Few seconds after that, with Gonzales still dazed, Ancajas again unleashed a left hook that knocked down his foe for the second time.
Referee Rafael Ramos didn’t bother to count as he waved Gonzales out in favor of Ancajas who defended his title for fourth straight time and improved his record to 29 wins, 20 by knockout, one loss and one draw.
With the impressive win, Ancajas is hoping to get more big fights in the US courtesy of promoter Top Rank’s Bob Arum, who signed him up recently.