MELVIN Jerusalem floored Mexican challenger Luis Castillo in the first round then piled up the points heavily the rest of the way to retain his World Boxing Council minimumweight crown with a dominant unanimous decision win at the packed Mandaluyong City College gym last Sunday night.

With Mayor Ben Abalos, who marked his 90th birthday the day before, and son, Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos, watching at ringside, Jerusalem knocked Castillo down with a jarring right straight early in the opening round.

The erstwhile unbeaten Castillo shook off the cobwebs and managed to get up on his feet and survive the round, weathering the onslaught in the latter rounds as the hometown favorite tried to put him away on several occasions.

However, the outcome was never beyond doubt, with judges Stephen Blea of the US and Yuji Fukuchi having identical scores of 120-107 and Arnie Najera of the Philippines 118-109, all in the Filipino’s favor in the headliner of card of the Blow by Blow program owned by ring icon Manny Pacquiao.

Former world bantamweight champ Jerwin Ancajas won by disqualification in his comeback fight against flustered Thai foe Sukpraserk Ponpitak, who acted more like grappler than a boxer, wrestling the Filipino around repeatedly.

Referee Alfie Jocosol disqualified the Thai with 24 seconds to go in the fifth when the Thai threw the shocked Ancajas to one corner.

“Matibay, matibay talaga ‘yung Mexicano,” noted Jerusalem, drenched in sweat, during the post-bout briefing after his successful first defense of the title that he won with a close split decision verdict over Japanese Yudai Shigeoka last March 31 at the International Conference Hall in Nagoya, Japan. 

The 30-year-old native of Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon picked up his 23rd win, including 12 by knockout, against three losses while dealing the lanky challenger, who was fighting out of Mexico for the first time, his first defeat in 22 fights.

Jerusalem said after a one-week rest, he would be back to the salt mines to prepare for a potential unification fight with undefeated Thai WBA min-flyweight king Knockout CP Freshmart (Thammanoon Niyomtrong) next year.

“Nangako sa akin si Sanman Promotions boss JC Mananquil na lalababan kami sa unification fight sa Thai sa Bangkok sa susunod na taon,” said the pint-sized Pinoy champ.

From the first round to the fourth, Jerusalem repeatedly tagged Castillo with combinations, taking a 40-35 edge in all the scorecards of the three judges, as announced by the ring announcer in keeping with WBC rules on open scoring.

There was no change in the complexion of the fight, although the Mexican, aware that he was behind, tried to be the aggressor but could not make any headway in the face of the Pinoy pug’s tight defense.

Jerusalem sustained the pressure in the middle rounds, connecting with lunging right straights that repeatedly found their mark.

His winning margin became even bigger after eight rounds, with two judges having identical 80-71 scores and another 79-72 as the crowd shouted “Tapusin, Tapusin!” for him to finish off the Mexican contender.

To his credit, Castillo gamely fought on, desperately seeking a knockout punch that would turn the tide as the window of opportunity drew tighter and tighter.

Confident that the win was in the bag, Jerusalem showboated in the last two rounds and displayed some fancy footwork but still landed a lunging right straight just before the final bell, looking up then raising his arms in triumph for a job exceedingly well done.