Ancajas to move up in weight for next fight, coach says he almost threw in towel during title fight

Former IBF world super flyweight world champion Jerwin Ancajas will not exercise the rematch clause in his contract and move up in weight following his failed title defense against Fernando Martinez.

Ancajas, 30, suffered a unanimous decision loss against Martinez this past weekend at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, USA. According to the prizefighter, the bout proved that it is time to move up in weight class as his body can no longer take the weight cut.

“I will not go for a rematch. I saw his punches coming, I knew what I had to do but my body did not respond. I felt heavy and my reflexes were not there. I need to move up in weight for my next fight,” Ancajas told GMA News Online.

Martinez unleashed more than a thousand punches and landed more than 400 of them on fight night. Ancajas’ trainer and manager Joven Jimenez took the blame for his fighter’s performance, citing that he almost stepped in to stop the contest in the later rounds.

“When I saw Jerwin getting repeatedly hit from round 9 onward I thought of stopping the fight,” Jimenez said.

“It was all my fault. I am to blame for this because we struggled with his conditioning after we got rescheduled to fight. We will go home and maybe distance myself from Jerwin for a bit because of this.”

Asked if he will move up to 118 or 122, Ancajas says that he will consult his handlers to see what’s the next best move for his boxing career.

—JMB, GMA News