MELVIN Jerusalem successfully defended his World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight title with a unanimous decision win over South African challenger Siyakholwa Kuse in the main event of the “Thrilla in Manila” 50th Anniversary card Wednesday night, Oct. 29, 2025, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Jerusalem had a rough start and took some time figuring out Kuse’s speed and quick combinations.
However, in the latter half of the fight, Jerusalem found his rhythm, landing some solid counters and occasionally wobbling Kuse for a strong finish.
Judge Samantha Bulner scored the bout 115-113, while judges Jun Bae Lim and Zanashir Taznaa had identical scores of 116-112, all in favor of Jerusalem.
The 31-year-old Jerusalem improved to 25-3 with 12 knockouts, while Kuse fell to 9-3-1 with four knockouts.
This was Jerusalem’s third successful title defense since winning the belt last year against Yudai Shigeoka in Japan.
Jerusalem is now targeting a rematch with World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) minimumweight king Oscar Collazo.
Meanwhile, Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Marcial (7-0, 4 KOs) survived two knockdowns and defeated Venezuelan knockout artist Eddy Colmenares (11-3-1, 11 KOs) by majority decision in the grueling 10-round co-main feature.
Marcial was floored in the third round by a flurry of punches and again in the final round by a one-two combination from Colmenares.
Despite the knockdowns, Marcial dictated the pace and got enough rounds to take home the WBC International middleweight belt. Two judges scored the fight 95-93 for Marcial, while the third judge saw it even at 94-94.
In another highlight, WBO No. 2 super bantamweight Carl Jammes Martin (27-0, 20 KOs) recovered from a third-round knockdown to dominate tough former world title challenger Aran Dipaen (21-5, 18 KOs) in one of the featured undercard bouts.
The undercard featured a thrilling mix of rising stars and seasoned contenders.
South African Chris Thompson (17-6-1, 9 KOs) showcased his experience and defeated Russian prospect Georgiy Yunovidov (12-2, 7 KOs) by unanimous decision.
Nico Ali Walsh (11-2-1, 5 KOs), grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, settled for a majority draw with Thai fighter Kittisak Klinson (10-2-1, 6 KOs).
Russian standout Vadim Tukov (18-0, 7 KOs) outclassed Sena Agbeko (29-5, 23 KOs) by unanimous decision, while former unified world champion Marlon Tapales (41-4, 22 KOs) stopped Venezualan Fernando Toro (11-3, 9 KOs) in the sixth round.
Arvin Magramo (20-2-1, 11 KOs) successfully defended his WBC International light-flyweight strap with a close split decision win over Berland Robles (12-1-1, 5 KOs).
Albert Francisco (14-1-1, 10 KOs) and Ramel Macado Jr. (10-1-1, 5 KOs) fought to a majority draw in their WBC International flyweight title battle, while Roderick Ballesteros (6-0-1, 5 KOs) scored a fifth-round technical knockout of Speedy Boy Acope (6-2, 4 KOs) to claim the Philippines Youth lightweight title.
In the curtain-raiser, Eman Bacosa (7-0-1, 4 KOs), son of Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, remained undefeated with a unanimous decision victory over Nico Salado (2-2-1, 1 KO). / EKA