February 24 marked two significant events in boxing history. The birth of a legend and a classic championship fight.
First, on February 24, 1977, the soon-to-be legendary boxer Floyd “Money” Mayweather was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and became, though arguably, the “Best Ever” in its annals.
The other one is when Roberto Duran beat Iran Barkley by a heart-stopping split decision to earn the WBC middleweight title at the Atlantic City Convention Center in 1989. Duran became only the third fighter in history at that time to win world titles in four different weight divisions, having won honors at lightweight through to super-welterweight beforehand.
Two prominent Filipino boxers, close friends Jonas Sultan and Jerwin Ancajas are once again about to make history in their upcoming fights in Japan facing Riku Masuda and Takuma Inoue, respectively, if they win together. They will be the first ever two Filipino rivals who fought each other for the world title and would both win under the same card. They both made history when they faced each other in a first-ever Pinoy versus Pinoy world championship fight in 92 years.
Ancajas (34-3-2, 23 KOs), a lefty, is set to be the Philippines’ first world champion in 2024. Pretty Boy, a former long-reigning IBF junior bantamweight world champion, bowed to snatch the World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight belt from Takuma Inoue, the younger brother of the monstrous Naoya Inoue.
Sultan’s record stands at 19-6-0. Since 2020, Sultan reached a 3-1 win-loss record with victories over Frank Gonzalez, Carlos Caraballo, and Sharone Carter and a loss to Paul Butler.
We all keep our fingers crossed that Sultan comes home with laurels on his head and belt wrapped around Ancaja’s waist after their February 24 outings and that’s already on Saturday.
If that happens, to this trying-hard boxing historian, that is far more important than the birth anniversary of Floyd Mayweather and more historically relevant than the sensational triumph of Duran over Barkley.
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(Photo:
ESPN)
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