Jerwin Ancajas sees his old self in next foe Jonathan Rodriguez

Reigning IBF world super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas sees his old self in his next opponent Javier Rodriguez.

According to Ancajas’ trainer and manager Joven Jimenez, his ward is slated to defend his title against the Mexican slugger in April in a yet to be determined venue.

Seeing how determined Rodriguez is to win the fight, Ancajas was reminded that he had the same frame of mind back when he was still a young boxer wanting to become a world champion.

“He has few fight videos online and we can't find sparring videos at all. He posts on social media, looking determined and saying hashtag April and the new,” Ancajas told GMA News Online.

“It is an added motivation and challenge for me because I see myself in him when I was still a challenger. So now I am training hard so I can give him a good fight.”

The 29-year-old Ancajas has not seen action since December 2019 when he defeated Miguel Gonzalez via sixth-round technical knockout.

It has been the longest layoff he had in his boxing career, but the Filipino champion guarantees that it would not affect his performance when it is time to get back inside the ring.

“I don't think the long break would affect my performance because we never relaxed, we just trained the whole year. I am confident that my conditioning would be the same if not better.”

Ancajas, who holds a record of 32-1-2 with 22 knockouts, has kept the world title since September 2016 when he defeated McJoe Arroyo by unanimous decision.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, holds an impressive record of 22-1 with 16 knockouts. His upcoming fight against Ancajas would be his first time to vie for a world title. — LA, GMA News