Melvin Jerusalem is out to give Mexican Luis Angel Castillo a rude welcome. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/WENDELL ALINEA
It’s not often you come across a fight where an expectedly partisan crowd will be fuel for the two fighters on the ring.
For Melvin Jerusalem, the cheers of his fellow Filipinos will boost his energy as he defends his WBC minimumweight title against Mexico’s Luis Angel Castillo on Sunday.
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“Having the Filipino crowd cheering for me will make a big impact. It gives me more confidence,” Jerusalem (22-3, 12KOs) told the Inquirer in Filipino during a press conference on Thursday at Manila Hotel.
For Castillo, the jeers will be an inspiration, too.
“The crowd will give me extra motivation and energy knowing [fans] will be rooting against me,” Castillo (21-0-1, 13KOs) said through an interpreter.
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Jerusalem, however, might have a bit more extra motivation heading into the world title clash, which will serve as the main event of global fight icon Manny Pacquiao’s revival of the “Blow by Blow” boxing extravaganza.
Jerusalem’s first reign as a world champion left a bitter memory that still lingers 16 months after he seized the WBO minimumweight title to Masataka Taniguchi in Osaka. He also lost the belt to Oscar Collazo in California in his very first defense just four months after claiming it.
And he wants to let his hold of the WBC strap to last a little longer this time.
‘I won’t let go’
“I won’t let go of this belt,” Jerusalem said while tapping the WBC 105-pound belt around his shoulder.
“I learned a lot from my last title defense. It was very painful experience. I worked so hard to win a world title and it was taken from me just like that. I’m giving everything I have this time.”
Castillo, the undefeated mandatory challenger, hasn’t fought outside Mexico but said that would hardly matter.
“I don’t have any problems with the climate. Climate in Manila is like Mexico. Although it’s my first fight outside Mexico and against a Filipino, I feel calm and confident that I will win,” he said.
“I feel very strong and I came here very prepared,” the Mexican added. “I will carry his belt back to Mexico and it will be a great fight.”
The bout is the first world championship fight taking place in the Philippines since 2016.
Castillo, a southpaw, will enjoy a three-and-a-half-inch advantage in height and four inches in reach in Sunday’s bout, which headlines a stacked 14-fight card that also features the return of former IBF (International Boxing Federation) world champion Jerwin Ancajas.
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“I am dedicating this fight to the Philippines. I will risk everything to win,” said Jerusalem.
