MANILA, Philippines — It is not hard to see the force behind Jerwin Ancajas' rapid rise to stardom.
Having defended his IBF super flyweight title thrice in 2017, Ancajas has earned the admiration of world-renowned Top Rank Promotions, basically putting him on the radar.
On Tuesday night, the Davao del Norte got his long-overdue national recognition along with two other athletes during SMC-PSA Awards Night at the Manila Hotel on Tuesday night.
The 26-year-old Ancajas — along with Krizziah Lyn Tabora, Carlo Biado — were named Athletes of the Year by Filipino sports scribes.
"Sobrang saya ko po na mapabilang sa Athlete of the Year ng PSA. Pangarap ko rin po talaga na maparangalan din dito sa PSA kasi napakaraming Pilipinong atleta na nag-aasam na maparangalan kaya napakasaya po," the pugilist said.
"Dagdag na inspirasyon po ito sa akin. Sana magtuloy-tuloy po itong mga nasimulan ko. Sana mabigyan pa ulit ng mga parangal," he added.
The charming Ancajas went doe-eyed in looking back on his 2017. "Indescribable," he said, was as an understatement.
"Sobrang swerte ko po sa taong ito. Kasi bilang champion boxer po, tatlong beses kang magdepensa sa title mo ... bihira pong pagkakataon sa amin iyon. Nagpapasalamat po ako sa Panginoon na binigyan niya ako ng safety, sa mga panalo ko sa taong ['yon]," the southpaw said.
His string of victories were so compelling that he earned perhaps the biggest recognition any Filipino boxing can get: being hailed as the next Manny Pacquiao.
But if you ask the Panabo-born fighter, he's far from the eight-division champ's level.
"Wala nang hihigit pa kay sir Manny," Ancajas said. "Wala na kahit sinong boxer sa buong mundo ang hihigit [sa kanya] at sa mga nagawa niya. Kung mayroon man, hindi pa siguro pinapanganak."
Although the future holds various possibilities — and even Ancajas can never deny that.
© Philstar.com Triple Treat: Boxer Jerwin Ancajas (left), bowler Krizziah Lyn Tabora (center) and billiards ace Carlo Biado hold their respective trophies as they share the spotlight as co-recipients of the PSA-Tapa King Athlete of the Year award during last night’s SMC-PSA (Philippine Sportswriters Association) Annual Awards Night at Manila Hotel’s Maynila Hall. Jun Mendoza
Asked about what's next for him, he said that down the line, he would love to pass wisdom to budding boxers.
"Kung ano man 'yong natutunan ko sa boxing, maibigay ko rin sa kapwa kong boksingero," he offered.
With regards to the three Top Rank fights left for him, he teased: "June po ang target month. Pero may sinasabi rin po na baka earlier April."
"Kailangan ko pang magsipag," he ended with a smile.