Jerwin Ancajas paid homage to the four sparring partners who made the sacrifice of getting him ready for an all-important world title fight on 24 February in Tokyo.
Ancajas, who challenges defending champion Takuma Inoue for the World Boxing Association bantamweight title, was all praises for those who camped out at the Survival Gym in Magallanes, Cavite.
Foremost among them was one-time world title challenger Vincent Astrolabio, who served as Ancajas’ chief sparmate.
Astrolabio checked in battle-ready since he had just completed a similar stint as a sparring partner for Marlon Tapales in Baguio City last December.
Ancajas’s shot at Inoue’s WBA 118-lb crown is a make-or-break affair after his almost six-year reign as champion at super-flyweight came to a screeching halt in 2022 in the United States.
Ancajas is the slight underdog heading into the scheduled 12-rounder that takes place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena but holds a huge edge in experience.
But since he will fighting on hostile ground, the odds are stacked against him.
In fact, Ancajas’ American representative Sean Gibbons is a bit worried if the fight goes the full route.
He had expressed his doubts when the identities of the the three judges were made public.
Though Gibbons didn’t say that Ancajas stands to get robbed if the fight lasts, he nonetheless has related his concerns to the Filipino southpaw.
Still, Ancajas has what it takes to take matters into his own hands.
And don’t be surprised if he ends up doing just that.
Ancajas and his team leaves for Japan on 17 February.
