May plano si Arum para kay Ancajas

MANILA, Philippines — Sa pagtatapos ng kontrata ni Manny Pacquiao sa Top Rank Promotions ay determinado si Bob Arum na gawing susunod na Filipino boxing superstar si Jerwin Ancajas.

Kaya naman plano ni Arum na gawin ang pagdedepensa ni Ancajas (29-1-1, 20 KOs) sa kanyang hawak na International Boxing Federation belt laban kay Filipino mandatory challenger Jonas Sultan (14-3-0, 9 KOs) alinman sa San Francisco o Los Angeles, California.

“At the moment we’re waiting for our promoter Top Rank, Bob Arum has a tremendous vision coming up for Jerwin,” wika ni Sean Gibbons, ang matchmaker ng MP Promotions ni Manny Pacquiao, sa pa-nayam ng BoxingScene.com. “He sees Jerwin fighting in the California market, up in San Francisco, maybe Los Angeles. That’s his target to bring Jerwin to the next step in his development as the next Filipino superstar in the United States.”

Noong Pebrero 3 sa kanyang US debut ay matagumpay na naidepensa ni Ancajas ang kanyang hawak na IBF crown matapos talunin si Israel Gonzalez via tenth-round stoppage sa Corpus Christi, Texas.

Nauna nang isinama ni Arum ang laban nina Ancajas at Sultan sa undercard ng title defense ni Australian world welterweight king Jeff Horn kontra kay Te-rence Crawford sa Abril 14 sa Mandalay Bay sa Las Vegas.

Subalit si Crawford ay nagkaroon ng hand injury kaya ipinagpaliban ni Arum ang naturang boxing card.

Inaasahan ni Gibbons na mangyayari ang upakan nina Ancajas at Sultan sa Mayo o Hunyo.

“I foresee the fight happening in late May or in the beginning of June, in that time frame and we’ve had discussions with Bob, with Jerwin’s management - Joven Sports - with Manny (Pacquiao), the markets in California are big,” wika ni Gibbons. “I was privileged enough to do a fight there with Albert Pagara and Cesar Juarez in Daly City.”

Hindi na mababago ang paghaharap nina Ancajas at Sultan. (RCadayona)