By: Sean Crose
Showtime Championship Boxing returned to the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut on Saturday. First up was a bout for the IBF super flyweight title, as defending champion Jerwin Ancajas defended his crown against the 22-1 Jonathan Javier Rodriguez in a scheduled 12 round affair. The 32-1-1 Ancajas had defended his title a total of eight times. Rodriguez, his mandatory opponent, was looking to leave his mark on the fight world by besting the Filipino champion before Showtime cameras.
Ancajas was able to rock his man in the first. Rodriguez came back and performed well in the second, as well as the third. Ancajas arguably reasserted himself in the fourth, and then the fifth. The sixth saw both men trading leather in exciting fashion. Both fighters also traded blows in the seventh. Ancajas exploded with shots, and sent his man down in the eighth. Rodriguez gamely got back to his feet and was able to beat the count. Still, Ancajas effectively worked the body in the ninth.
Rodriguez continued to take punishment in the tenth, but was amazingly able to stay game. The challenger Rodriguez actually appeared to be the more active of the two fighters in the eleventh. The final seconds of that round were particularly impressive, as each man truly gave his all. Both fighters continued to dig deep in the 12th and final round. Anjacas ended up keeping his crown by seemingly wide scores of 115-112, 117-110 and 116-111.