Melvin Jerusalem (left) and Yudai Shigeoka (right). | Facebook and Instagram photos
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former world champion Melvin “Gringo” Jerusalem is ready to shock the world anew as he is set to fight reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) world minimumweight champion Yudai Shigeoka on March 31.
Their bout will be held in Nagoya, Japan, in a double-header world title showdown featuring Shigeoka’s brother Ginjiro, who will defend his International Boxing Federation (IBF) world minimumweight title against another Filipino, Ar-Ar Andales.
His world title bout was officially announced on Monday, February 5, via a Zoom press conference that featured both camps.
Jerusalem put up a huge surprise in the international boxing scene roughly a year ago when he snagged the World Boxing Organization (WBO) world minimumweight title.
He dethroned erstwhile champion Masataka Taniguchi via a scintillating first-round technical knockout in Osaka, Japan.
The 29-year-old Jerusalem, who is based in Cebu under ZIP Sanman Boxing Team, reigned champion for five months until he was dethroned by Puerto Rican Oscar Collazo in Indio, California.
Collazo beat Jerusalem via a seventh-round stoppage.
Despite that huge setback, Jerusalem remained a highly-ranked world title contender and bounced back with a unanimous decision win last October against Francis Jay Diaz in General Santos City.
Jerusalem currently has a record of 21 wins, 12 knockouts, and three defeats. He trains in Cebu City and in Japan under the tutelage of Michael Domingo.
Meanwhile, Shigeoka is unbeaten in eight fights with five knockouts. This will be his first title defense after he snatched the WBC world minimumweight title from Thai Panya Pradabsri in Tokyo, Japan, last October.
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