Eumir Felix Marcial wins third pro bout, outclasses Steven Pichardo
Fernando Martinez just proved that his first win against Jerwin Ancajas wasn't a fluke at all.
Martinez asserted dominance once more and blasted Ancajas with a convincing unanimous decision to successfully defend the International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior bantamweight title on Saturday night, Oct. 8, (Sunday morning in Manila) at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
The 31-year-old Argentine boxer took the judges' nod with a score of 118-110 118-110, 119-109 in his statement win, perhaps sealing the deal and settling business with the former Filipino champion.
Just like in their first encounter, a feisty and sturdy Martinez displayed his prowess with technical and inside boxing against Ancajas, who seemed to lose steam anew heading into the final rounds just when he clearly needed a knockout to win the match.
Martinez just would not budge and kept charging forward, trading punches with the solid left hooks of Ancajas in the latter rounds.
Despite Ancajas' strong start, especially in the second round, that proved to be much of it for the Panabo, Davao del Norte native as Martinez just kept marching on with his powerful body shots and precise combos.
Martinez showed who's boss in the middle rounds, cornering and forcing Ancajas to the ropes as he unloaded multiple combinations and counters against Ancajas' left hooks.
But that wasn't the last of Martinez -- not even one bit -- as the reigning IBF champion continued the onslaught in the eighth rounds onward against a gassed Ancajas, who now fell to a 33-3-2 win-loss-draw record on top of 22 knockouts.
Ancajas' face also started to swell in the latter round even as an accidental head clash took a toll on the Filipino pugilist with an open cut.
Still, Ancajas, 30, showed steely nerves and fought for dear life, exchanging blows with the mighty Martinez over the waning seconds.
Martinez, aside from raising his reputation as the IBF titlist by defeating Ancajas, for his part, remained unbeaten in 15 bouts built on eight knockouts.
The 2016 Rio Olympian actually ended Ancajas' six-year reign when the two first clashed last February, posting almost the same result while displaying gutsiness and sturdiness in his boxing arsenal.
Meanwhile, Eumir Felix Marcial, overcoming a cut above his right eye, won his third straight professional bout against Steven Pichardo in the undercard.
Marcial, who improved to three straight victories with one knockout, showed aggression from the get-go and forced Pichardo to be on his defensive stance for the most part.
An accidental head clash as well in the second round opened a cut on Marcial but that did not hinder him from unleashing accurate uppercuts and solid body shots to slow down Pichardo, who slipped to an 8-3-1 record along with two KOs.
Marcial's performance also saw an obvious improvement from the last time when he faced adversity against Isiah Hard last April, where he had a successful comeback win after a fourth-round stoppage despite falling down thrice early in the match.