Melvin Jerusalem. | Facebook photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) world minimumweight champion Melvin “Gringo” Jerusalem is gearing up for a possible rematch against former WBC titleholder Yudai Shigeoka of Japan.
The Cebu-based fighter from the ZIP Sanman Boxing Stable shared in an interview with CDN Digital that discussions for a second bout with Shigeoka are underway.
Jerusalem’s original plan to unify the minimumweight titles has been put on hold after World Boxing Organization (WBO) champion Oscar Collazo of Puerto Rico and World Boxing Association (WBA) titleholder Thammanoon Niyomtrong of Thailand agreed to a unification fight scheduled for November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
With that bout on the horizon, Jerusalem’s (23-3, 12 KOs) path to unification has temporarily stalled, leaving Shigeoka as the next logical opponent.
Shigeoka (9-1, 5 KOs), who is ranked as the next mandatory challenger, is seeking redemption after losing the WBC title to Jerusalem earlier this year.
The potential rematch follows Jerusalem’s first title defense in Manila, where he dominated Mexico’s top contender, Luis Castillo, securing a lopsided unanimous decision win.
“Our plan was really to unify the titles, but with the unification happening between the Thai and Puerto Rican champions, we might have to focus on the rematch with Shigeoka,” Jerusalem explained.
“I’m prepared for it because we’re under contract with Kameda Promotions, so if they want the rematch, we’ll be ready.”
Jerusalem first captured the WBC belt by defeating Shigeoka in a hard-fought split decision victory earlier this year, marking a triumphant return to world championship status after losing his WBO title to Collazo via stoppage in 2023.
He is one of two current Filipino boxing world champions; the other is Pedro Taduran, the IBF world minimumweight champion.
For now, Jerusalem plans to spend the remaining months of the year recuperating after his recent successful title defense.
However, despite his dominant performance against Castillo, the 30-year-old champion expressed that he wasn’t entirely satisfied and remains focused on refining his skills.
“We did everything we trained for in the fight with Castillo, but I still feel there are areas where I can improve,” Jerusalem admitted. “I’ll continue to work hard to sharpen my skills and become even more dominant in future fights.”