Jerwin Ancajas likely to make mandatory defense in next fight

After retaining his title last night with a 10th round stoppage of Israel Gonzalez, Jerwin Ancajas’ team is looking ahead to the next fight, and likely an IBF mandatory title defense.

The mandatory challenger for Ancajas (29-1-1, 20 KO) is fellow Filipino Jonas Sultan, a 26-year-old from Cebu City, and ESPN says that a fight between the two would be the first all-Filipino world title fight in boxing since 1925.

MP Promotions matchmaker Sean Gibbons had this to say:

“In the IBF we have a mandatory with another Filipino Jonas Sultan. We’re looking into that. If we have to do that fight we’ll do it. If not, we’ll see what’s out there. But we’re kind of looking at the mandatory right now.”

Sultan, at 14-3 (9 KO), doesn’t have the prettiest record, but he’s a hot fighter at the moment. He knocked off veteran Sonny Boy Jaro via eighth round KO last May, and then upset Johnriel Casimero in September, winning by decision. Casimero is a former 108 and 112-pound titleholder and still in his prime years, so that’s a win you have to take very seriously.

It’s a fight that has to be taken care of at some point, and with Ancajas building himself up in a hot division, it might as well be next in the spring. If Ancajas wins there, he’d be free to take an optional fight against a bigger star, but Sultan’s recent performances indicate he’s nobody to overlook, too.