Boxing: Is Ancajas’ trainer bothered by champ’s failure to win via stoppage?

FRESNO, Calif.—Jerwin Ancajas said he thinks his title-retention performance against Jonas Sultan was worth a decent score of 7.

The International Boxing Federation world champion could be overrating himself, though; his trainer, Joven Jimenez, was unimpressed and gave him a 6.

It was the lowest ever grade Ancajas got from his trainer since he dethroned Puerto Rican McJoe Arroyo in 2016 and defended the title successfully against the likes of Mexican Alfredo Rodriguez in Macao; Japanese Teiru Kinoshita in Brisbane, Australia; Northern Irishman Jamie Conlan in his hometown Belfast; and Mexican Israel Gonzalez in Corpus Christi, Texas.

But Ancajas has little reason to complain.

While he stopped Rodriguez in 7 rounds, Kinoshita in 7, Conlan in 6 and Gonzalez in 10, he was unable to put down Sultan.

Ancajas, though, offered an explanation, albeit hackneyed.

"It was a good experience to fight against Jonas. He hits hard, has a true heart of a Filipino," he said. "As I've said before it's really tough to fight versus Filipinos because they continue to keep fighting."

And while the judges’ scorecards showed him the runaway winner, 119-109, 119-109 and 111-107, there were many instances in which Sultan penetrated his defense.

Fact is, Cebu-born judge Jonathan Davis gave Sultan 1 round (the ninth), Zachary Young 1 (10th) and Danny Sandoval 3 (third, seventh and ninth).

The Sultan camp even said its boxer deserved 4 rounds in the first all-Filipino world title duel in 93 years.

A disappointed Jimenez said he’s going to look back and try to analyze why Ancajas wasn’t in his fiercest, meanest form against Sultan.

It’s unlikely that he would raise his score to Ancajas’ liking, however.

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