WPRLD Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight champion Melvin Jerusalem said he felt hurt and frustrated after his rematch and unification fight with Oscar Collazo was canceled.
Jerusalem was supposed to face Collazo, who holds the World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles, in a big fight that would have unified three world belts in one division.
“They told us the fight was just moved to a later date, but instead they canceled it and chose another opponent,” Jerusalem told SunStar Cebu. “We trained hard and sacrificed a lot for this fight, so I was really hurt when it was called off.”
Jerusalem had already started intense training for the bout, which was first scheduled in March. He even skipped his holiday break and booked an early flight to the United States to prepare.
At first, Collazo’s team said the fight would be moved to June or July. However, Collazo decided to defend his titles instead against Jesus Haro on March 14, 2026, in Anaheim, California.
Jerusalem and Collazo first fought in 2023 in California. In that match, Jerusalem lost his WBO title after being stopped in the seventh round.
Now that the unification fight is no longer happening, Jerusalem is likely to defend his WBC belt in Japan.
“They will find a way for me to fight in Japan,” he said. “I’ll go home to Bukidnon for a short rest, then return to Cebu to train again.”
Two top-ranked fighters, Joey Canoy and Siyakholwa Kuse, cannot fight Jerusalem right away because they are scheduled to face each other in a title eliminator. The winner of that match will become the mandatory challenger for Jerusalem’s belt.
Other possible opponents include undefeated Japanese boxer Ryusei Matsumoto, Beaven Sibanda of Zimbabwe, and Mexico’s Luis Castillo. Several other Japanese fighters are also ranked in the top 15.
Despite the setback, Jerusalem remains ready for any challenge.
“I’ll fight anyone,” he said. “But I really want a unification fight. That’s why I passed up other fights before, just to chase the rematch with Collazo.”