Takuma Inoue Stops Jerwin Ancajas
In front of an engaged crowd at the Kokugikan Sumo Arena in Tokyo, Japan, WBA bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue (19-1, 5 KOs) squared off against former junior bantamweight champion Jewin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas (34-4-2, 23 KOs).
Inoue is the younger brother of two-division undisputed champion and 3kiingsboxing.com Top 10 #2 fighter, Naoya Inoue. After fighting in the shadows of his big brother, Takuma made his breakthrough when he scored a unanimous decision win over Liborio Solis to capture the then-vacant WBA crown in April 2023.
Pretty Boy is the former IBF champion at 115 pounds. But coming into this bout, some in the boxing community believed that the 33-year-old was past his prime. Ancajas was on a mission to show the boxing world that he still had plenty left in the tank.
A COMPETITIVE BATTLE
Both fighters were somewhat cautious in the opening two rounds. However, round three saw the defending champion land with straight right hands and counter left hooks.
After a big fourth round for Ancajas, the defending champion began to fight more on the outside in the middle rounds. Inoue had the faster hands and feet. He implored his speed to pile up the points against the flat-footed Filipino challenger.
Ancajas had some level of success, especially on the inside. Regardless, as the rounds persisted, Inoue was more in control of the action while the former challenger was beginning to slow down.
All it takes is one punch to end matters. That was the case for the WBA champion. In the early moments of round nine, he put Ancajas down with a right uppercut to the liver. On all fours and writhing in pain, Anjacas could not get up and was counted out.
It was a calculated and professional performance from the champion. Takuma wants to follow in his big brother’s footsteps and become the undisputed champion at 118.
