Melvin Jerusalem might end up tangling with a South African challenger when he makes the third defense of the World Boxing Council (WBC) strawweight crown in late-October.

The Filipino champion is currently neck-deep in training in Nagoya and was supposed to lock horns with Mexican Daniel Valladares.

But somebody from Jerusalem’s camp revealed about the switch on Thursday.

This time, it is WBC No. 2 Siyakholwa Kuse who has been tapped to bring his wares to Manila to face Jerusalem.

Kuse, a left-hander, is just 22 years and rated No. 2 by the WBC.

Holding a 9-2-1 win-loss-draw mark with four knockouts, Kuse last fought in May, beating Filipino one-time world title challenger Sammy Salva.

Jerusalem, older at 31, left for Japan about three weeks for strength and conditioning. He will stay there until mid-September.

Parading a 24-3-0 ledger with 12 knockouts, Jerusalem defeated Yudai Shigeoka last March in Nagoya to defend the WBC 105-pound throne for the second time.

He took the crown by topping Shigeoka in March 2024 and defended against mandatory challenger Luis Castillo of Mexico in Manila for the first time.

Jerusalem hopes to maintain his status as WBC champion in order to keep his mission within sight.

That mission is for him to become undisputed titleholder by annexing the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Organization (WBO) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) belts.

The IBF is ruled by fellow Filipino Pedro Taduran while the WBA and WBO are owned by Puerto Rican Oscar Collazo, who is likewise considered The Ring magazine’s recognized main main in the division.

There is that possibility that another Filipino will join Jerusalem and Taduran since Collazo is scheduled to meet Jayson Vayson on 20 September in Indio, California.

The odds are stacked against Vayson since he will have to shed off three pounds considering that he has been campaigning at light-flyweight the last seven years.