Jerwin Ancajas vs. Jonas Sultan Set For May 26
IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas will go from co-main eventer in his past couple of fights to following in the footsteps of mentor Manny Pacquiao and headlining a boxing card in Las Vegas.
Sean Gibbons, Ancajas’ adviser, told ESPN that Ancajas will fight mandatory challenger Jonas Sultan on May 26 in Las Vegas at a venue to be determined. ESPN will handle the boradcast and could be streamed on the ESPN+ streaming service which is set to be released on April 12.
“May 26 in Las Vegas will be a real coming-out party for IBF champion Jerwin Ancajas. Jerwin will headline his first [ESPN event] and fight in first fight in Las Vegas like his idol Manny Pacquiao [did so many times],” Gibbons said.
Ancajas vs. Sultan will be the first all-Filipino world title fight in more than 90 years. The bout was actually supposed to take place on April 14 on the undercard of the WBO welterweight title fight between Jeff Horn and mandatory challenger Terence Crawford. The Horn vs. Crawford fight got postponed due to a hand injury Crawford suffered, forcing the rest of the undercard to look at other dates and venue to hold their respective fights at.
Ancajas has held the IBF title since 2016 and has successfully defended the belt four times. He is coming off a TKO win over Israel Gonzalez on the undercard of the February 3 Top Rank Boxing on ESPN event. Sultan won his last five fights, scoring a minor upset win over former world champion John Riel Casimero.
