Godspeed, Melvin Jerusalem

Whether Melvin Jerusalem made a marvelous move or committed a big blunder will be known on Saturday night (early Sunday morning in Manila) in South Africa.

Jerusalem makes the fourth defense of the World Boxing Council (WBC) strawweight crown against Siyakholwa Kuse at the Emperors Palace in Johannesburg.

This will be a rematch of their October 2025 showdown that Jerusalem won on points in a highly-competitive clash during the golden anniversary celebration of the Thrilla in Manila.

But while Jerusalem is highly-killed and a fierce competitor, defending the title in hostile ground and fighting in unfamiliar conditions, fight fans are kind of bothered should the fight go the distance of 12 rounds.

You see, the Mexico-based WBC has appointed a Filipino judge (Jerrold Tomeldan) and a South African judge (Thaboo Spampool) alongside a third judge from the United Kingdom (David Irving).

The referee — Zambia’s Maybin Kante — is African.

The fight supervisor is also from South Africa, Malefetsane Ngatane.

It is common knowledge that once a fight goes the distance and the match turns out to be close, usually the judges favor the home fighter.

But Jerusalem’s camp insists the fight is not going to be even close to make that happen.

One thing that’s a big plus for Jerusalem is the fact that he got to Johannesburg real early.

He and lead trainer Michael Domingo left Cebu for Dubai on 29 April.

From the United Arab Emirates, they took a connecting flight to Johannesburg.

They have been there for over two weeks now and they seem to be doing just fine.

But then again, Jerusalem’s defending on enemy territory and his chances of retaining the title won’t be as high as risking it at home or on neutral ground.

Besides, only a few Filipino fighters have come home victorious after their respective African expeditions.

Knowing Jerusalem and how motivated he is, I won’t be surprised if he makes it 2-0 against Kuse.

The same thing holds true as well if Kuse winds up taking away that WBC strap.

I am just keeping my fingers crossed that Jerusalem prevails because if he does, it isn’t just his victory alone but a huge win by Philippine boxing.