Melvin Jerusalem ready to defend boxing title against Mexican foe

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipino boxing champion Melvin Jerusalem is ready to defend his World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight championship title against Luis Angel Castillo of Mexico on September 22, 2024.

After scoring a split decision victory over Japan’s Yudai Shigeoka to claim the belt, Jerusalem will return to business and is set to square off against the undefeated Mexican pug at the Mandaluyong City College.

Known as a power puncher who can close the distance with his pressure and sneaky jabs, Castillo is confident that he can pull off the win despite Jerusalem holding the home-court advantage.

Castillo has yet to drop a single professional fight since entering the scene in 2014 and has already knocked out 13 of his opponents out of 21 total fights.

The Mexican star is fresh off a unanimous decision victory over Miguel Angel Herrera and is looking to sustain his momentum against the Filipino champion.

However, Castillo will be facing a laser-focused Jerusalem who is still at an all-time high in his win over Shigeoka that took place in Japan six months ago.

In a hostile International Conference Hall in Nagoya, Jerusalem embraced the boos and used it as his fuel to dispose the home bet in 12 grueling rounds.

Jerusalem was a man on a mission during that championship bout against Shigeoka as he took him down twice on the canvas in the second and sixth rounds.

The Japanese slugger retaliated in the last three rounds, turning the fight into a nip-and-tuck affair but Jerusalem’s two scored knockdowns were enough to steer him to the massive win.

“We had a short vacation, then got back to training. We were able to do it well and we’re now ready for the fight,” said Jerusalem’s chief tactician Michael Domingo.