It’s an even-steven affair when Argentine strongman Fernando Martinez and Filipino southpaw Jerwin Ancajas square off in a rematch on 8 October in Los Angeles.
Odds coming from the United States indicate that while Martinez holds the slight advantage, his edge is so miniscule that ringsiders feel a bounce back from Ancajas is a high possibility.
Martinez shocked the boxing world last February when he carved out a 12-round unanimous decision in their Las Vegas slugfest.
Ancajas was making the tenth defense of the International Boxing Federation super-flyweight crown and was heavily favored to repulse Martinez.
But Martinez stood his ground and put an end to Ancajas’ long reign that stretched back to September 2016.
To get back at Martinez, Ancajas is addressing the issue of nutrition in his buildup after complaining that he struggled in making the super-fly limit of 115 lbs in the fight.
Ancajas’ handlers have even reached out to the Philippine Sports Commission for support.
PSC executive director Guillermo Iroy said the agency is lending a helping hand by way of tapping a weight expert who closely works with national team athletes.
Ancajas is facing a daunting task against Martinez.
He is attempting to put an end to Filipino fighters’ bad luck in world title fights.
From a high of five reigning world champions at the beginning of the year, Filipino champions fell by the wayside one by one.