Former world champion Melvin Jerusalem will go down in PHL boxing history despite short title reign — analyst

Melvin Jerusalem may have had a short world title reign, but he will have nevertheless etched his name in Philippine boxing history, according to veteran boxing analyst Atty. Ed Tolentino.

The 29-year-old Jerusalem (20-3, 12KOs) won the WBO world minimumweight title via second-round technical knockout over Masataka Taniguchi last January. His first title defense happened this past weekend against Oscar Collazo (7-0, 5KOs) where he lost by TKO before the start of round 8.

"Let us put it this way, he might be deemed as an accidental champion but still was a world champion. Nobody can take away the legitimate belt that he won. A lot of boxers out there have never become a world champion through their careers," Tolentino said in an interview on Sparring Sessions.

"Jerusalem can say that he was a world champion, but he was nevertheless a world champion. He made good money, though not long term but the fact he became a world champion, he is now a part of Philippine boxing history."

Despite being the defending world champion, oddsmakers listed Jerusalem as an underdog against Collazo, who only had six professional fights under his belt before their showdown.

"We wanted him to win the fight against Collazo because as we said, he had many questions to answer including perceptions that he got a lucky break against Masataka Taniguchi," Tolentino stressed.

"We have had many world champions in the past that did not last long on the throne."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News