MORE than one year without a fight won’t be much of a problem for International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas as he defends his belt against Mexican Jonathan Javier Rodriguez in April.
Rodriguez, 25, on the other hand, last fought in December 4 when he dealt fellow Mexican Julian Yedras a stinging knockout only two minutes and 27 seconds into the fight in Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
But that doesn’t worry Ancajas, who continues to train in Los Angeles during the lockdown.
“We just keep our training and sparring for Jerwin [Ancajas] since early last year and we’re not bothered even if he didn’t fight for a long time—that’s not a problem for us,” Ancajas’s trainer and manager Joven Jimenez told BusinessMirror on Monday.
“What we don’t like to happen is for him to overtrain,” Jimenez said. “We are just preparing seriously against Rodriguez, and we’re only waiting for the final date and venue.”
Ancajas, Jimenez said, is now 85 percent fit and ready to peak anytime.
Ancajas (32-1-2 win-loss-draw record with 22 knockouts) was locked down in various training camps since February in Dipolog City, Philippine Naval Base in Cavite City and Survival Camp in Magallanes, Cavite, before flying to the US in October.
Ancajas and Rodriguez were scheduled to fight in November last year in Los Angeles, but the Mexican had trouble with his visa. The fight was moved to April in Las Vegas, but was overran by the Covid-19 pandemic.