MELVIN Jerusalem is set to fight for pride and country in front of Pinoy fans in September when he defends his World Boxing Council minimum weight belt against undefeated Mexican challenger Luis Castillo.
Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions will arrange a quality fight card for the first title defense of the 30-year-old two-time world titlist, currently the only Filipino world champ, either in Manila, Masbate or General Santos City.
“Quality world boxing title will be coming soon to the Philippines, and Melvin Jerusalem, our present world champion, will be a main part of it,” Pacquiao, the eight-division world champion, said. “It’s a great thing that he holds one of the most prestigious world boxing titles – the WBC.”
Castillo, 26, is a dangerous southpaw with 21 wins against one draw with 13 knockouts.
Although no exact date and venue have been determined yet, MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons said the fight has been agreed upon when WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman visited the country last March.
“Jerusalem is our last remaining hope at the moment, he is our only reigning Filipino world champion, and we need this fight to happen in the Philippines,” Gibbons said.
Jerusalem, a former World Boxing Organization minimum weight champion, won the WBC belt in Tokyo, Japan, last March 31 after scoring a split decision victory over Japanese Yudai Shigeoka to put Philippine boxing back into the world boxing map.
“That’s really one of my dreams, aside from becoming a world champion: To fight and defend my crown in front of the Filipino crowd here in our country,” Jerusalem (22-3 win-loss record with 12 knockouts) said. “I am really thrilled and excited to hear it.”
