Defending champion Melvin Jerusalem brushed off his being installed as underdog in his second defense of the World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight crown on 30 March in Japan.

“Those are just numbers. I am not even surprised. It’s a game (betting),” Jerusalem said from his training camp in Cebu City.

Besides, Jerusalem insists that he has gotten used to being the underdog over the years as he braces for a rough night with Yudai Shigeoka of Japan at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokomane.

“That’s how it has been for me,” the 30-year-old from Manolo Fortich in Bukidnon said during a break in training.

Oddsmakers have installed Jerusalem as +180 underdog and Shigeoka as -225 even though the Filipino fighter had knocked Shigeoka down twice and beaten him for the WBC 105-lb belt last year in Nagoya.

“That’s just gambling and I am not bothered by it,” Jerusalem added.

Jerusalem, who easily defeated mandatory challenger Luis Castillo of Mexico last September, held his pre-conditioning training in Japan before relocating to the Queen City in the third week of February.

His team is slated to fly to Japan on Sunday with chief trainer Michael Domingo after attending to last-minute commitments, including this Thursday’s Elorde-Pacquiao Awards Night at the Okada.