by Nick Giongco
Super-flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas beamed with pride upon receiving the Jersey Joe Walcott-Fighter of the Year award during the International Boxing Federation (IBF) annual convention awards night on Thursday in Macau.
Looking svelte and suave at the Wynn Cotai, Ancajas was joined in this special moment by key members of his team, led by longtime manager and trainer Joven Jimenez and US agent Sean Gibbons, who also serves as Manny Pacquiao’s right-hand man.
“This is a memorable moment in my life,” said Ancajas, who defended the IBF 115-lb crown thrice in 2018.
Last month in Stockton, California, Ancajas repulsed mandatory challenger Ryuichi Funai of Japan in a dominating performance.
Ancajas is being groomed to return to the ring in September by Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, whose Top Rank, Inc. has the Filipino southpaw under contract.
The victory over Funai was Ancajas’s seventh defense of the title he won in Sept. 2016.