WBC champion Jerusalem explores other options

It doesn’t look as if World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight king Melvin Jerusalem will get his wish of getting a unification fight with either the World Boxing Organization (WBO) or World Boxing Association (WBA) champions.

Not yet at this time given that WBO titleholder Oscar Collazo of Puerto Rico and WBA ruler Thammanoon Niyomtrong of Thailand are scheduled to face each other on 16 November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Coming off an emphatic one-sided decision victory over mandatory Mexican challenger Luis Castillo, Jerusalem made it known that he wants to get the chance to get back at Collazo, who beat him via a seventh-round stoppage last year in California.

He likewise expressed his desire to battle the long-reigning Thai titlist for his next fight if a Collazo clash couldn’t be made.

With Collazo and Niyomtrong colliding in less than two months, Jerusalem is left with no choice but to look elsewhere.

JC Mananquil, who runs the affairs of the the WBC 105-lb champ, revealed that the Japanese promotional outfit Kameda holds the rights to his second defense and it is likely that the option will be utilized.

If the Kameda group decides to exercise it, Jerusalem will have to travel to Japan to face Yudai Shigeoka in a rematch or any other available Japanese contender.

Jerusalem beat Shigeoka on a split decision last March in Nagoya to bag the WBC crown.

Other Japanese fighters listed in the WBC’s top 15 are Yudai’s brother Ginjiro as well as Yuni Takada or Goki Kobayashi.

Mananquil said he expects to hold talks with the Kameda group this coming week.