With Jerwin Ancajas, Bob Arum eyes to replicate Manny Pacquiao’s success at Top Rank

MANILA, Philippines – In signing IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas, Top Rank Inc. chief Bob Arum is hoping to have his promotional company enjoy the same success it had with Manny Pacquiao.

Arum definitely saw potential in Ancajas — who will defend his title against Mexico’s Israel Gonzalez Saturday (Sunday Manila time) — that he signed the 26-year-old fighter to a three-fight contract.

The veteran promoter is now excited to find out if his stable now has the next best version of Pacquiao, whose success as a Top Rank-promoted fighter has been noteworthy.

"Obviously, our whole adventure with Manny was so successful. It took up a good part of my life, certainly the recent part,” Arum recently told Steve Kim of boxingscene.com.

“So you've got a kid like Jerwin who is very, very talented and is a lovely kid and you hope that it turns out the same way," he added.

Ancajas (28-1-1, with 19 KOs), who interestingly is a protégé of Pacquiao, possesses a unique combination of speed and power that comparisons to the Filipino icon have become inevitable.

The rising star had impressed in his last two outings last year — knocking out Teiru Kinoshita in Brisbane, Australia, and Jamie Conlan in Belfast, Ireland. Those two performances caught Arum’s eye, leading the promoter to ink the Cavite City-based fighter.

Now, Ancajas gets a chance to showcase his wares for the first time in the US against Gonzalez, in an ESPN-televised bout set at Bank of America Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Arum, for his part, has become a believer in the young boxer.

"I had never seen him before and Sean Gibbons (Ancajas’ representative) had brought him in and convinced everybody that he would perform well and he was on television both to the United States and Australia," said Arum.