Ancajas bows to Takuma Inoue in 9th-round KO

TOKYO – It was a sad, cold evening in this Japanese capital after Takuma Inoue brought Jerwin Ancajas down on his knees in a ninth-round knockout at the historic Kokugikan Arena here.

Inoue was clearly the better fighter as Ancajas, the former super-flyweight champion, was short with his punches and never really posed a threat to the reigning WBA bantamweight king.

A couple of body shots by Inoue signalled the end of the fight. Ancajas went down in the 44-second mark of the ninth round and right there, decided for himself that he could no longer continue.

“Until today I didn’t know what to expect. But I’m grateful we got this result,” said Inoue, who was joined in the celebration atop the ring by his elder, more illustrious brother Naoya, the undisputed super-bantamweight champion.

Inoue piled up the points in the early rounds, controlling the fighter whether it was from a distance of close range. While Ancajas landed some of his punches, Inoue’s were the harder ones.

Ancajas’ face started to turn red by the fifth round, a clear reflection of what was really going on in the fight.

Ancajas was short with his punches and just couldn’t find the target, especially in the opening rounds where Inoue unveiled a better fight plan.

Inoue was quicker throwing his punches and therefore landed more, including his right straights that helped him pile up the points.

Ancajas, though, tried very hard not to get careless even if the Japanese seemed to have taken control of the fight. Inoue simply stayed out of trouble by making Ancajas miss.

Inoue left the ring still wearing his championship belt and improved his ring record to 19-4. It was only his fifth knockout win, and for it to come at the expense of Ancajas means something for the Filipino.

At 32, there could be a couple more good fights left from Ancajas, but now he must do some serious thinking about whether that would be at 118 pounds or 122 (super-bantamweight).

Ancajas stayed on the floor for some time before regaining his breath. He left the ring looking like what he is right now – a former world champion. But he was gracious in defeat, clasping his hands in prayer and bowing before the crowd.

In the fourth round,