It’s the moment of truth for popular East London boxer Siyakholwa Kuse, when he steps into the ring on 29 October to face WBC strawweight champion Melvin Jerusalem in Manila in the Philippines.
The title fight was confirmed by WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman.
A lack of experience could be Kuse’s biggest hurdle. He comes in with only 12 professional fights compared to Jerusalem’s 27. This huge advantage, as well as fighting in front of his home crowd, will see Jerusalem starting as the big favourite.
However, Kuse won’t go down without a fight. If he were not confident of becoming the new champion, he would not have accepted taking on the defending champion.
He won nine of his 12 bouts with four knockouts. He lost twice, and one fight ended in a draw. Kuse won all of his last six bouts, with his last defeat in 2021 against Bangile Nyangani in East London. Jerusalem won 24 of his 27 fights, boasting 12 knockouts. He is undefeated in his last four fights.
