The Wait for End to Pinoy World Title Drought Starts This Week with Melvin Jerusalem
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 04 Jan 2023
Jerusalem poses in front of Edion Arena in Osaka upon his arrival in Japan on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023.
The wait, which many hopes would not be long, for the next or new Filipino world boxing champion, starts this first week of the new year as Melvin Jerusalem attempts to win the WBO minimumweight title and end the Pinoy world title drought that started in July 2022.
Jerusalem (19-2-0) who has previously challenged and failed for the WBC crown, takes on Japanese defending champion Masataka Taniguchi (16-3-1), himself a second termer, on Friday, January 6, 2023 at the Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan.
The fight will be part of a double world championship main event that will also feature the undefeated Japanese Ginjiro Shigeoka (8-0-0) attempting to wrest the IBF minimumweight crown from Mexico's Daniel Valladares. Valladares wrested the title from Rene Cuarto, one of the five Filipino world champions who lost their titles in 2022, the last being Mark Magsayo who dropped his newly won WBC featherweight crown in July 2022.
Jerusalem previously challenged then long reigning Thai WBC champion Wanheng Menayothin in Bangkok in 2017 but dropped a close decision verdict.
Taniguchi on the other hand, failed in his WBO title challenge of then defending titlist Vic Saludar in 2019 also by decision before eventually winning the same crown last year via TKO over Puerto Rican Wilfredo Mendez who earlier wrest the belt from Saludar.
Both fighters have bounced back from their title defeats by going on a respective winning streak which they hope to sustain in this fight with Taniguchi holding the slight edge for being the hometown fighter.
However, Jerusalem is determined not to let this second opportunity pass with another failure.
Jerusalem is just one of the three Filipino fighters that boxing fans will be waiting for and watching as well as eagerly rooting for with already or soon to be scheduled world title challenges. The other two are ex WBO bantamweight titlist Marlon Tapales and the very promising and still unbeaten super flyweight contender Jade Bornea who are already clinched official mandatory challenger status with the IBF.
Following a deal reached with the handlers of unified WBA-IBF super bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev that precluded an IBF purse bidding, Tapales is to meet Akhmadaliev at the latest, April, in a venue yet to be agreed upon which could be Uzbekistan where Akhmadaliev came from.
Meanwhile, details of Bornea's title challenge of IBF champion Fernando Martinez of Argentina are yet to be ironed out as of the present. There could only be complications if Martinez would opt for title unification against the other world champions which is not possible at this stage as WBO's Kazuto Ioka and WBA's Joshua Franco have just fought (and resulted to draw) and WBC's Juan Francisco Estrada has expressed interest only in meeting either of the two.
There are at least three more Filipino fighters bear waiting and watching for in the first half of 2023 including new bantamweight hope Vincent Astrolabio and former multi division world champions Nonito Donaire and Johnriel Casimero. But largely, their prospects depend on what Japanese undisputed world bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue decides to do next, specifically either to stay at 118 lbs or move up to 122 lbs and vacate all his belts at bantamweight.
Provisionally, Astrolabio has clinched mandatory challenger status with the IBF and would be the next for Inoue should he opt to stay at 118 lbs or would be fighting for at least the IBF title should Inoue moves up to 122 lbs. Nonito on the other hand, has already been named by the WBC to fight for its bantamweight title against Australian Jason Moloney if Inoue vacates.
But according to Rachel Donaire, Nonito's wife, manager and trainer, Nonito is also interested in fighting for and winning his fifth division world championship at the lower super flyweight class against any of the beltholders but chiefly versus El Gallo Estrada.
Hopefully, we will have a clearer idea of Nonito's priority next move before the first quarter ends.
Fans would also be keenly watching how Casimero would be moved along by his new Japanese promoters given his acrimonious relationship with Inoue which could also effect his acceptability with the highly patriotic and partisan Japanese boxing fans.
Johnriel ended a long boxing hiatus last December 3, 2022 by a 2nd round knockout win over world rated Japanese Ryu Akaho in a super bantamweight fight held in South Korea. It was first ruled as a no contest bout by the Japanese referee but overturned to a KO win for Casimero by the Korea Boxing Members Commission on protest by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) in support of Casimero.
Being a former WBO bantamweight titlist who was not defeated in the ring but was merely stripped of his title, Casimero could be another frontrunner to vie for any major belts at bantamweight if Naoya decides to move up and vacate his titles.
But then again, that is if Johnriel could still comfortably make the bantamweight limit. If not, it could be better for Casimero to continue his pursuit of Inoue at the higher 122 lbs.
Other Filipino fighters bear following this 2023 also include Esneth Domingo who won back to back knockouts in Japan and IBO flyweight champion Dave Apolinario who could be our new hopes for major world title at flyweight which is becoming our new Waterloo boxing division. Former WBC featherweight champion Mark Magsayo is also set to figure in world title eliminator versus Ghanaian strong boy Isaac Dogboe at featherweight sometime before the new year is half through.
We will keep you posted as developments ensue in the coming days.
Abangan...
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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