Melvin Jerusalem conquers WBC straw-weight title with split decision win over Yudai Shigeoka

Take a bow! Melvin Jerusalem is the new WBC straw-weight champion

In a historic fight for Filipino boxing, Melvin “El Gringo” Jerusalem (22-3, 12KO) managed to defeat previously unbeaten Yudai Shigeoka (8-1, 5KO) to conquer the WBC straw-weight championship.

30-year-old "Gringo" Jerusalem always showed talent, heart and determination, flooring southpaw Shigeoka twice with powerful right-hand counter punches in the third and sixth rounds.

Despite facing a tough, unbeaten opponent, Jerusalem’s accuracy and stamina over the close 12-round championship contest earned him the coveted WBC belt.

It was Jerusalem’s dominance and experience over the younger 26-year-old in key moments that solidified his performance to be crowned as the new WBC straw-weight champion.