Siyakholwa Kuse Wins WBC Title From Melvin Jerusalem At Home
To the delight of the audience at the Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa, Siyakholwa Kuse (10-3-1, 4 KOs) gained revenge over Melvin Jerusalem (25-4, 12 KOs) with a unanimous decision victory (116-112, 116-112, 115-112) to capture the WBC minimumweight title. Kuse may not have much time to celebrate, however. There is a strong possibility the two are headed toward a trilogy fight.
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
The opening half of the contest lacked sustained action. Both fighters appeared content engaging in a tactical battle from the outside, relying mostly on single punches and cautious movement. At the midway point, the most memorable moment was the cut Jerusalem suffered over his right eye late in the second round.
Kuse began asserting himself more aggressively in the seventh round. The South African champion consistently landed sharp combinations and accurate counterpunches at range during the middle rounds. With one minute remaining in the eleventh, Jerusalem scored a knockdown with a straight right hand. Despite the setback, Kuse never appeared seriously hurt and fed off the energy of the crowd to finish stronger in the final round.
During their first meeting in October 2025, Kuse appeared overwhelmed while fighting for a world title in Jerusalem’s home country of the Philippines. This time, competing in front of his supporters, he looked far more composed and confident.
Jerusalem entered the contest hoping a victory would propel him into reopening a proposed unification showdown with unified minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo. Those plans are now on hold.
Fortunately for Jerusalem, they included a rematch clause that was part of fighting Kuse. As a result, expect the newly crowned WBC champion Kuse to meet Jerusalem for a third time, potentially before the end of the year. With Kuse now holding the title, his team will likely push to stage the trilogy fight once again in South Africa.
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