MANILA. Philippines – Melvin Jerusalem dangles the World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight crown for the first time against unbeaten Mexican mandatory challenger Luis Castillo on September 22 at the Mandaluyong City College Gym.
The 30-year-old Jerusalem, who owns a 22-3 win-loss record with 12 knockouts, knows Castillo (22-0-1 with 13 knockouts) would be a tough opponent. That’s why the Bukidnon-born fighter is training hard under Michael Domingo at the ZIP Sanman Gym in Cebu where he is now based.
Castillo is three years younger, 3 1/2 inches taller at 5-foot-5 1/2, and four inches longer with a 66-inch reach.
Jerusalem, who took the WBC crown from the then unbeaten Japanese Yudai Shigeoka via split decision in Nagoya on March 31, however, is determined to keep the 105-pound title before his countrymen.
Manny Pacquiao Presents: Blow by Blow is staging the featured 12-rounder in a special edition of the weekly television presentation on Cignal’s One Sports channel.
According to Pacquiao, boxing’s only eight-division world champion, he’s excited that Jerusalem would be staking his belt on home soil against the top contender Castillo.
Jerusalem is the only other reigning Filipino world boxing titlist aside from Pedro Taduran, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) 105-pound titlist.
“This is a fulfillment of our plan when we revived Blow by Blow almost two years ago, seeing a Filipino figure in a world title fight right before his countrymen,” said Pacquiao, who expressed gratitude to the decision of a “heavyweight backer in Petron to help me put together this stacked card.”
Jerwin Ancajas, the former longtime IBF super flyweight king, makes his first fight as a featherweight when he tangles with Thai veteran Sukpraserd Ponpitak.
Ancajas (34-3-2 with 23 knockouts) is favored over Ponpitak (30-19 with 20 knockouts).
Castillo, a southpaw, has beaten his last 15 opponents, including nine by stoppage, since a draw in 2017. – Rappler.com
