According to ESPN.com, IBF junior bantamweight titlist Jerwin Ancajas is getting his visa situation sorted out, and then plans to return to the ring in October or November against mandatory challenger Jonathan Rodriguez.
Sean Gibbons of MP Promotions say the plan is then to face Ancajas face the winner of a rematch between Joshua Franco and Andrew Moloney, with Gibbons saying, “we’re tired of people criticizing Jerwin.”
Ancajas (32-1-2, 22 KO) wasn’t being criticized much at all before a recent string of lackluster performances and/or opponents. After a dull fight with Jonas Sultan in 2018, Ancajas went to a draw with Alejandro Santiago that same year. In 2019, he was matched against Ryuichi Funai and Miguel Gonzalez, fringe contenders (at best) whose style allowed Ancajas to look a bit more exciting, but at the expense of the wins having much credibility. As a result, Ancajas has fallen well behind the other top names and fighters at 115 in terms of fan or media appreciation, and there has been a sense that he’s not taking risks or truly looking to be the top guy, while some of the others are.
As for facing the Franco-Moloney 2 winner, I think the strategy of trying to face a secondary (that means “fake”) WBA titleholder instead of calling out the real WBA titlist, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, or one of the other titleholders in the division (Juan Francisco Estrada or Kazuto Ioka) is a little questionable. Even if you can’t get them, putting it out there with some sincerity might help a little. But the Franco-Moloney winner is definitely the easiest fight to make that doesn’t stink, and to be clear, a fight between Ancajas and the Franco-Moloney winner is a good fight. But it also is, on paper, the path of least resistance in search for praise.
Rodriguez (21-1, 15 KO) isn’t much of an opponent on paper, either, but that one can’t be put on Ancajas or his handlers, really, that’s a fight they have to take care of at this time. It was originally schedule for late 2019, but Rodriguez had visa issues.