Melvin Jerusalem and his team have arrived in Japan and upbeat the Filipino challenger will return to Manila with the World Boxing Council minimumweight belt strapped around his waist.
Accompanying Jerusalem were chief trainer Michael Domingo and promoter JC Mananquil.
Jerusalem challenges Yudai Shigeoka on Sunday at the International Conference Hall in Nagoya.
This will be Jerusalem’s third crack at a world title, having flubbed his first try in Thailand.
In his second attempt in January 2023, Jerusalem knocked out Masataka Taniguchi in the second round to bag the World Boxing Organization jewels in Osaka.
But in his initial defense, Puerto Rican Oscar Collazo won by stoppage after Jerusalem failed to come out of his corner for the eighth round.
To prepare for Shigeoka, Jerusalem had four sparring partners in his Cebu training camp, according to Domingo, who insists that the ex-world champion is determined to reach the top anew.
Shigeoka has an 8-0 win-loss mark with five knockouts while Jerusalem has a 21-3 slate with 12 knockouts.
“We have learned a lot from the loss to Collazo and me and coach are addressing those,” Jerusalem said.
The odds are stacked against Jerusalem, who will also be bidding to put an end to the alarming trend of Filipino setbacks on Japanese soil.
