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Filipino fighter Melvin Jerusalem dangles his WBC title against confident Mexican Luis Castillo, while former world champion Jerwin Ancajas returns to the ring as a flyweight
MANILA, Philippines – The first time Melvin Jerusalem held a world crown, he lost it in his first defense abroad. Given the chance to wear a championship belt again, Jerusalem vowed to keep it before his countrymen.
Jerusalem dangles the World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight title against unbeaten Mexican Luis Castillo on Sunday night, September 22, in the main event of Manny Pacquiao Presents: Blow by Blow at the Mandaluyong City College.
“It has always been my dream to defend my world title in the country. I am ready to sacrifice myself to win the fight,” said Jerusalem, owner of a 22-3 card with 12 knockouts.
Castillo, however, is no pushover with a 21-win, 0-loss, 1-draw slate with 13 knockouts.
Apart from being three years younger than Jerusalem at 27, Castillo is also three inches taller at 5-foot-5, and 4 inches longer with a reach of 68 cm.
They both checked in at 104.8 pounds during the official weigh-in on Saturday, September 21.
Although fighting out of Mexico for the first time, Castillo, a southpaw, is confident of snatching the crown away from Jerusalem, whose reign as World Boxing Organization (WBO) minimumweight king lasted less than five months in 2023.
“He (Jerusalem) is a strong, aggressive fighter, but we have crafted a plan,” said Castillo, who has remained perfect after a split draw in 2017 and has guaranteed that he would return to Mexico with the crown.
Jerusalem countered that he would be ready for whatever Castillo, noted for his overhands, would bring in the ring.
Longtime IBF junior bantamweight world champion Jerwin Ancajas, meanwhile, returns to the ring as a flyweight when he tangles with Thai veteran Sukpraserd Ponpitak in the chief support.
The 32-year-old Ancajas trained long and hard under Joven Jimenez at their Survival Camp in Magallanes, Cavite, and is raring to prove that he still has the skills and reflexes to become a world-beater again.
Ancajas, who holds a 34-4-2 record with 23 KOs, is favored over the 36-year-old Ponpitak (30-19 with 20 KOs) in the 10-rounder.
They both weighed in at 125.2 pounds. – Rappler.com
