MAKING the most of the opportunity, unheralded Argentine Fernando Martinez wrested the International Boxing Federation super flyweight title from Jerwin Ancajas with a hard-earned unanimous decision win at the Cosmopolitan Resort Casino in Las Vegas yesterday (Saturday in the US).
A 1-5 underdog, Martinez banked on an explosive 11th round to win the nod of judges and end the reign of Ancajas, who succumbed to the relentless and furious assault of his rival in is 10th defense of his title.
Judge Max Deluca scored it 117-111 while David Sutherland and Steve Weisfeld scored it 118-110, all in favor of the newly-crowned champion, who remained undefeated in 14 fights, eight of them by knockout.
Ancajas, whose face was left black and blue from Martinez’s onslaught, absorbed only his second loss in 37 matches. His 10-match winning streak ended as his record dipped to 33 wins (22 KOs) against two draws.
The setback derailed Ancajas’ plans for a unification clash with Japanese World Boxing Organization super flyweight titlist Kazuo Ioka, who was supposed to face the erstwhile Filipino champ last December in Tokyo. The fight was scrapped due to the spike of COVID-19 cases in the Japanese capital.
