Sultan next for Jerwin

CORPUS CHRISTI – Las Vegas matchmaker Sean Gibbons said IBF superflyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas, fresh from a 10th round stoppage of Mexican challenger Israel Gonzalez at the American Bank Center here Saturday night (yesterday morning, Manila), will next fight No. 1 contender and countryman Jonas Sultan in a mandatory defense.

Sultan earned the right to face Ancajas after outpointing former two-time world champion Johnriel Casimero in a 12-round eliminator in Cebu City last September. Gibbons said he expects the IBF to send a letter today to remind Ancajas of his obligation. The option of paying Sultan a step-aside fee of $20,000 for Ancajas to defend against a choice challenger isn’t appealing to Gibbons. Eventually, Gibbons said Sultan will come up as a mandatory challenger if he remains the No. 1 contender so why not get it over and done with?

Gibbons said he envisions a fight between two Filipinos to sell in a US market where there is a sizable Filipino community. “With all due respect to Corpus Christi, I think San Francisco or Los Angeles would be a better venue for Jerwin to fight Sultan,” he said. “We could do it at the StubHub Center in Carson City or the Forum in Inglewood. That’s really up to (Top Rank CEO) Bob (Arum). We’ll consult him on what we should do, looking forward.”

Gibbons said Top Rank has a slot available for Manny Pacquiao in the undercard of the WBO welterweight title defense of champion Jeff Horn against Terence Crawford at Madison Square Garden in New York City on April 14. He said if Pacquiao takes the slot, maybe Ancajas should fight on another card.

“Manny and Jerwin on the same card is an overkill,” said Gibbons. “They could sell a show separately so why put them together? If Manny doesn’t take the slot in April, maybe Jerwin can slide in. Or Manny and Jerwin could headline different shows. I’d like Jerwin to make another defense, his fifth, before the IBF convention in Rome in May. Then he could do a sixth defense before the year ends. That would mean three fights this year.”

Gibbons said Ancajas was masterful in crushing Gonzalez. “The Mexican fans booed him at the start but Jerwin wasn’t bothered,” he said. “He got booed worse in Belfast against Jamie Conlan. But after he stopped Conlan, the Irish fans gave him a parade as he walked out of the ring.”

Gibbons said there’s no rush for Ancajas to take on the marquee superflyweights being promoted by HBO in a super series. WBC superflyweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, former WBO/WBA flyweight ruler Juan Francisco Estrada, former WBC superflyweight titlist Carlos Cuadras, McWilliams Arroyo and Roman (Chocolatito) Gonzalez are among the hottest names in the 115-pound division.

“No sense trying to fight any of those guys because they’re tied up with HBO and Top Rank is tied up with ESPN,” said Gibbons. “Maybe after three defenses this year, Jerwin can move in to unify. Right now, I think Srisaket is an easy fight for Jerwin. I’d wait a little for Estrada and let that fight become a major attraction because of the Mexico versus the Philippines angle. That would be an awesome fight for next year.”

Gibbons said Ancajas’ manager and trainer Joven Jimenez is on a roll. Jimenez’s stable is called the Survival Camp which is what Ancajas’ training facility in barangay Ramirez, Magallanes, Cavite, is known as. Another Jimenez protégé Ernesto Saulong will attempt to dethrone IBF superbantamweight champion Ryosuke Iwasa in Tokyo on March 1.