FORMER world junior bantamweight champion Jerwin Ancajas could earn a crack at dreaded Japanese International Boxing Federation super bantamweight king Naoya Inoue after the IBF mandated an eliminator between him and another Japanese, Ryousuke Nishida, last Wednesday.
Veteran American ring writer Lance Pugmire posted an article on the website boxingscene.com reporting that “in a letter this week to the representative of both fighters, IBF Championships chairman George Martinez said negotiations between Japan’s former bantamweight Nishida and the Philippines ‘ former super flyweight champion Ancajas should conclude by September 23.
“If a deal is not finalized by then, a purse bid will be ordered.”
Rising to a heavier category after finding it difficult to maintain his weight in the junior bantamweight class, Ancajas, 33, looked quite comfortable in the heavier division, pounding out a majority decision win over Uruguay’s Ruben Dario Casero in a scheduled eight-rounder last Aug. 2 at the Thunder Studio in Long Beach, California.
The Pinoy “Pretty Boy” raised his record to 37 wins, 24 of them by knockout, against four losses and two draws, and is ranked No. 5 in the IBF ratings and will face Nishida (No. 29, who sports a slate of 10 wins (2 KOs) and one loss, in a battle of southpaws in the eliminator.
In his last fight, Nishida lost his IBF bantamweight strap to compatriot Junto Nakatani, who was able to unify the World Boxing Council and IBF belts in forcing the former to throw in the towel after six rounds last June 8 at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan.
The owner of the IBF, WBC and World Boxing Organization super bantamweight championship belts, the undefeated Japanese “Monster” was staking all of them on Sunday against mandatory Uzbek challenger Murodjan “M.J” Akhmadaliev at the IG Arena in Nagoya, Japan, the report said.
“If victorious, Inoue is expected to fight his WBC mandatory challenger David Alan Picasso in December in Saudi Arabia before a planned showdown with Nakatani in 2026,” it added.
