WBO Orders Purse Bids For Melvin Jerusalem vs Oscar Collazo
The contest between WBO minimumweight champion Melvin Jerusalem (20-2, 11 KOs) and mandatory challenger Oscar Collazo (6-0, 4 KOs) will now go to a purse bid.
HOW DID WE GET HERE
As 3Kings Boxing reported, the sanctioning body ordered a fight between Jerusalem and Collazo on January 30. At that time, the WBO gave both parties thirty days to negotiate a deal.
RELATED: WBO Orders Melvin Jerusalem To Face Oscar Collazo
That time went and passed without an agreement. As a result, the sanctioning body has set a February 23 hearing at the WBO offices in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the purse bid will take place.
Jerusalem is presently the Philippines’ lone world champion. He won the title on January 6 with a surprising second-round stoppage over Masataki Taniguchi. Collazo is one of the more talked-about up-and-comers in the lower-weight divisions. He became the mandatory contender after dismantling Yudel Reyes in five rounds in a WBO title eliminator on January 28.
LET THE BIDDING WAR BEGIN
The purse bid will be a battle between Jerusalem’s handlers, Kameda Promotions, and Golden Boy/Miguel Cotto Promotions, who currently co-promote Collazo. According to the WBO rules, Jerusalem receives seventy-five percent of the winning split, while the mandatory challenger gets twenty-five percent.
Should Team Collazo land the fight, look for the bout to land either in his country of Puerto Rico or in the United States. Should Team Jerusalem win the bid, you could see the match in either Philippines or possibly in Japan. Stay tuned to 3kingsboxing.com for further updates.
