Jerwin Ancajas battered Japanese mandatory challenger Ryuichi Funai forcing the referee to stop the fight in the seventh round to retain his International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-flyweight crown Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila) at the Stockton Arena.
Ancajas was beating up his overmatched foe before referee Ed Collantes waved off the fight in the seventh after the ring doctor examined the bruised Funai and declared him unfit to continue.
Funai kept his feet throughout the bout but was in queer street in the fourth and sixth rounds after absorbing powerful shots to his head.
Ancajas who weighed 114.2 lbs defended his title for the seventh time. Funai came in at 114.4 to challenge for the IBF title that the Filipino won in Sept. 2016 in the Philippines.
Ancajas, a 27-year-old southpaw, is now 31-1 with two draws and 21 knockouts but comes into the fight off a disappointing draw last September in Oakland against Mexico’s Alejandro Santiago Barrios.
“I was hard at work three weeks after my last fight with Santiago,” Ancajas said. “I am going to be in the best shape in my upcoming fight with Funai. Coming off my last fight, I really want to give a great performance and defend my world title in style.”
Acanjas, unbeaten in 18 fights dating to 2012, won the crown in 2016 by unanimous decision from Puerto Rico’s McJoe Arroyo and has defended three times in each of the past two years.
Funai, 33, gets his first world title bout after seven wins in a row over the past three years. He’s 31-7 with 22 knockouts.
“I am excited for this opportunity to challenge for a world title and to make my professional debut in America,” Funai said.
“I know I have the experience and the skills to become the new IBF champion of the world. Jerwin and I respect one another, but this is boxing, and I’m going to fight my heart out.” With AFP