Jerusalem ready to conquer South Africa

Alta Sports12 hours ago · 138 views

Jerusalem ready to conquer South Africa image

Photo: WBC

By Shawn De Guzman

Melvin Jerusalem is in not fazed by the fact that he is fighting on his opponent’s turf.

In fact, he even seemed to thrive with it.

The Filipino champion is ready to defend his World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight belt in a rematch against Siyakholwa Kuse at the Emperor’s Palace in South Africa, early morning of Sunday (Manila time).

"I will show a lot more stuff than the first fight," said Jerusalem.

"I will show in the ring what I learned from the first fight. Even though I won, I can do a lot better, especially now I'm on the road. I love challenges,” he added.

Jerusalem tipped the scales at 104.4 pounds while Kuse also came in within the limit at 104.7lbs .

The WBC champion, who is also seeking a rematch and unification fight against Puerto Rican star Oscar Collazo, is coming into the contest with a 25-3 record with 12 knockouts while Kuse boasts a 9-3-1 slate.

The two fought in October last year at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City with Jerusalem emerging victorious with a unanimous decision to retain the belt.

Now, despite being the visiting side, Jerusalem believes the fight will have pretty much the same result.

"I'm used to fighting in some other countries, mostly Japan, and it's not my home but I built my confidence to fight anywhere,” said Jerusalem.

"Our last fight was good. We will do more of it, so that the people watching can enjoy it. He is a good boxer. We don't know what's going to happen, so we must be prepared."

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