Earlier this month, the sport of boxing was witness to one of it’s pound for pound top competitors, WBC junior bantamweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, in action as he dominated Mexican contender Iran Diaz over 12 rounds to win a unanimous decision on October 6. The final judges scorecards all favored the champion at 120-108 and 119-109 twice.
The fight took place inside of the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand and Sor Rungvisai raised his record to 46-4-1 with 40 knockouts. After impressively defeating former pound for pound star Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez back-to-back, the second time by brutal knockout, the Thai champion hasn’t disappointed. But there was an interested spectator from ringside, as IBF titleholder Jerwin Ancajas was scouting Sor Rungvisai for a possible unification fight.
The 26-year old Ancajas (30-1-2, 20 KO’s) has held his title for over two years, with six successful defenses, and he would love the chance to prove himself against another champion. Following the bout with Diaz, Ancajas joined Sor Rungvisai in the ring to set the stage for a possible unification fight. Originally from the Philippines, Ancajas has defended his belt on the road, in China, Australia, Northern Ireland, and three times in the U.S. So a trip to face a fellow champion in Thailand shouldn’t be a problem for him.
“I came to Thailand to watch with my own eyes the champion from Thailand fight,” Ancajas said in statement to the press following the fight.
“I liked what I saw,” Ancajas said. “He is my style. I would be the matador versus the bull. He comes right at you and wants to trade big punches. I do not like fighters that move a lot so Sor Rungvisai is the perfect fight for me. I have been waiting a long time for a fight like this. I spoke to my promoters Joven Sports, Manny Pacquiao and Mr. Bob Arum of Top Rank Boxing and told them please get me this fight next”
What’s interesting, is what platform would we will see the match take place? Ancajas’ above statement is very interesting, because, as we all know, Manny Pacquiao recently inked an exclusive partnership with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions brand, and the word is that many of his fighters are also going to be featured along with him. Pacquiao will now be fighting either on SHOWTIME pay per view or Fox, yet Bob Arum with Top Rank, who co-promotes the young champion, had an exclusive deal with ESPN.
Don’t be shocked to see Ancajas on the undercard on the rumored Manny Pacquiao vs. Adrien Broner matchup, said to be going down possibly January 19 in Las Vegas. That fight is said to be heading towards SHOWTIME pay per view, which would be a good outlet for Ancajas, but don’t expect a unification with Sor Rungvisai on that show.
Perhaps that is for the best for Ancajas, as he actually struggled a bit in his last fight, and had to settle for a split draw vs. unknown Alejandro Santiago on Sept. 28 in Oakland, California, on ESPN +.
Sor Rungvisai’s team has also expressed interested in the fight but admit that they are unsure of what the future holds for their fighter.
Remains to be seen if we will see this excellent unification anytime soon but for now it appears to be one of the top fights to make at 118 pounds.
