Jerusalem offers no excuses after losing WBC belt

Bloody but unbowed. Melvin Jerusalem offered no excuses and wholeheartedly admitted defeat after suffering a shock unanimous decision loss in his rematch against Siyakholwa Kuse in South Africa last Sunday. Going live on his Facebook page, the 32-year-old pug thanked his fans for supporting him while vowing to return stronger from the setback. Jerusalem yielded the World Boxing Council (WBC) minimumweight crown to Kuse, leaving International Boxing Federation (IBF) titlist Pedro Taduran as the only reigning Filipino boxing champion. “Salamat sa inyong suporta sa mga loyal supporters ko dyan na manalo o matalo. Ayaw ko magpatalo pero wala, talo talaga tayo. Congrats kay Kuse, sa kanya ang araw ngayon,” said Jerusalem. “Ginawa namin lahat. No excuses,” he added. The pride of the Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon sustained a bloody cut just above his right eyebrows in the third round — an injury that certainly bothered the Filipino champion. Kuse also made sure to take advantage of the situation and repeatedly pawed the wound with his sharp jabs to keep blood flowing and disrupt Jerusalem. The Filipino did score a knockdown at the 11th round but the lead was just too much for Jerusalem to overcome at that point. “First time sa buong buhay ko first time ko na headbutt, tatlo pa, hindi lang isa. Tatlong headbutt, dito pa sa Africa. Pero okay lang challenge ito sa akin. Umabot pa rin tayo ng 12 rounds,” he said. Jerusalem intends to rest first although he vowed to quickly bounce back from the setback. “Magpahinga muna tayo para makapag isip kung may rematch ba o ano, kung anong plano natin,” he added.