THE rousing victory of Filipino southpaw Jerwin Ancajas over Puerto Rico’s IBF super flyweight champion McJoe Arroyo will be featured on the top rating Viva Sports weekly boxing show “The Main Event” over Pinoy Box Office on Sky Cable at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, with a replay at 10:30 a.m. the following day.
The show will also include pre-fight interviews with Ancajas and Arroyo and Juan Martin Elorde, the grandson of the great Gabriel “Flash” Elorde and the current WBO Oriental lightweight champion.
Sean Gibbons, the matchmaker, who helped well-known international promoter and matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz to win the purse bid for MP Promotions of eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, earlier told the Manila Stanard that Ancajas was given an opportunity to fight for the world title before his hometown fans at the air-conditioned Navy Gym in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City and grabbed the opportunity with an impressive performance that stunned the Puerto Rican’s handlers.
Arroyo won the vacant title with a 10th-round technical decision over previously unbeaten ALA Promotions fighter King Arthur Villanueva at the Don Haskins Convention Center in Texas in July last year.
Ancajas sent McJoe through the ropes with a vicious flurry of punches in the eighth round and won handily on the scorecards of all three judges to the delight of the crowd, who cheered the Filipino.
Ancajas said after the fight that the support of the fans helped him rise to the ocassion and give the Philippines its fourth world title.
This Sunday at 1 a.m. (Manila time), IBF flyweight champion Johnreil Casimero will defend his title against unbeaten 23-year-old British champion Charlie Edwards at the sprawling O2 Arena in London in a fight that will be telecast by Sky Cable on pay-per-view.
“Casimero is the best kept secret in Philippine boxing,” said Gibbons, who expects the hard-hitting Filipino to break down the defense of Edwards and take him out by the sixth round.