Photos: Jerwin Ancajas Hits The Wild Card - Shows Off His Form

Filipino fireball JERWIN "Pretty Boy" ANCAJAS will make his U.S. debut, Saturday, February 3, at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX.  A protégé of Filipino icon Senator Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, and promoted by Top Rank®, MP Promotions and Joven Sports, Ancajas (26-1-1, 18 KOs), of Cavite City, Cavite, Philippines, will be making the fourth defense of his International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior bantamweight world title against Top-10 contender ISRAEL GONZALEZ (20-1, 8 KOs), of Cabo San Lucas, México.  Photos by Mikey Williams.

The Ancajas - Gonzalez world championship fight will be the co-main event to the GILBERTO "Zurdo" RAMÍREZ -HABIB "Wild Hurricane" AHMED World Boxing Organization (WBO) super middleweight world title rumble.  Both fights will be televised live and exclusively at 10:15 p.m. EST on  ESPN and ESPN Deportes and stream live on the ESPN App.      

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zapari Boxing Promotions, remaining tickets to the Ramírez - Ahmed / Ancajas - Gonzalez world championship doubleheader event are priced at $152, $102, $62, $42, and $27, including facility fees -- the perfect fistivus holiday gift for your favorite boxing fan!  They may be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, at the American Bank Center Box Office, Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT, or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Ancajas captured the IBF junior bantamweight world title last year, dethroning defending undefeated champion McJoe Arroyo via a dominate 12-round unanimous decision.  It was the only fight Ancajas has gone the distance in his last 14 bouts dating back to 2012.  He has successfully defended the title three times -- all in 2017 and all by stoppage -- against Jose Rodriguez (32-4) in Macau; Teiru Kinoshita (25-1-1) in Brisbane, Australia, under the Manny Pacquiao - Jeff Horn world title fight; and on November 18, Jamie Conlan (19-0), in Conlan's native Belfast.

Gonzalez returns to the ring riding an eight-bout winning streak with five of those victories coming by way of knockout.  The former WBC FECOMBOX super flyweight champion is currently world rated No. 9 by the IBF.