Don't look now, but International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas, who retained his title for the fourth time Sunday morning Manila time by stopping Mexico's Israel Gonzalez in the 10th round of a one-sided fight in Corpus Christi, could very well face a fellow Filipino in his next defense.
Ancajas (29-1-1, 20 knockouts) is slated to next face the IBF's mandatory no. 1 challenger, who just happens to be Jonas Sultan of Cebu.
"In the IBF we have a mandatory with another Filipino Jonas Sultan," MP Promotions matchmaker Sean Gibbons told Renz Ongkiko of Sportscenter Philippines. "We're looking into that. If we have to do that fight we'll do it. If not, we'll see what's out there. But we're kind of looking at the mandatory right now."
Joe Ramos of MP Promotions, which co-promotes Ancajas, also pointed at Sultan as the next possible opponent.
"Obviously the mandatory is Jonas Sultan of the Philippines," Ramos told Ongkiko. "We'll go there and see what happens."
Sultan (14-3, 9 KOs) positioned himself as the IBF's mandatory challenger by upsetting former two-division champion Johnriel Casimero via unanimous decision last September at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City. He is the IBF's Intercontinental super flyweight champion and has won five in a row since dropping a 10-round unanimous decision to Go Onaga in Japan. Sultan is promoted by Cebu-based ALA Boxing.
If an Ancajas-Sultan title bout pushes through, it will be the first time in nearly 93 years that two Filipinos will clash for a world boxing crown. The last all-Filipino title fight was in May 1925 when Pancho Villa beat Clever Sencio to retain his world flyweight championship in Wallace Field in Manila.