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Boxing

Melvin Jerusalem vs. Siyakholwa Kuse Keys to Victory: Breaking down tactics of each fighter

DAZN

28, Oct

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Suffering his first stoppage defeat in May 2023 lit a fire under Melvin Jerusalem.

Since losing to Oscar Collazo in that bout, Jerusalem became a strawweight world champion again and is in the midst of a four-fight win streak.

Now, the Filipino fighter and WBC strawweight world titleholder will look to end his 2025 with an exclamation point when he puts his strap on the line against South African fighter Siyakholwa Kuse at Araneta Coliseum in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday.

After scoring a split-decision win over Yudai Shigeoka to become the WBC minimumweight champ in March 2024, Jerusalem (24-3, 12 KOs) defended the title via a pair of unanimous decision wins over Luis Castillo and Shigeoka in their rematch in September 2024 and March 2025, respectively. Meanwhile, Kuse (9-2-1, 4 KOs) has won six straight fights including the 10-round points victory he produced against Samuel Salva in South Africa this past May.

Will Jerusalem wrap up his year on a positive note? Or will he be ripe for the picking via what would be a huge upset at the hands of Kuse? DAZN News breaks down the tactics of each fighter in this Keys to Victory analysis.

Melvin Jerusalem’s Keys to Victory

Make deposits to the body

Melvin Jerusalem attacks the body effectively, often neutralizing opponents’ movement. Doing this against Siyakholwa Kuse could hinder the South African’s range and leave him vulnerable to damage upstairs.

Piece together combinations in bursts

In possession of a snappy jab, once Jerusalem establishes the stick, he tends to step into his forward-fighting punches. The same can be said for his body shots which can be used as a setup for combinations to come. Either way, Jerusalem could benefit from unloading combos in bursts to throw Kuse into the pressure cooker in Manila.

Be more mindful of defense

His stoppage loss to Oscar Collazo exploited Jerusalem’s susceptibility to both the body and upstairs with the left hook. The champ simply being more mindful on defense and protecting himself after detonating his offense could go long ways toward a win over a hungry southpaw in Kuse.

Siyakholwa Kuse’s Keys to Victory

Bang the body

Oscar Collazo battered Melvin Jerusalem to the body, sapping the Filipino fighter’s movement and overall energy level, forcing his barrage of punches to slowly dissipate.

In hostile territory via his first fight outside of South Africa, Siyakholwa Kuse has got to use Collazo’s blueprint and target the body in order to see if he could slow the champion down as well.

Launch the left hook

If Kuse is successful to the body and makes Jerusalem respect his shots targeted there, the champ might lower his arms just enough for the challenger to connect with a left hook across the jaw. Kuse does that enough and he could manufacture a route to hoisting the title by the night’s end.

Do not get overwhelmed by the moment

This bout is already Kuse’s first crack at a world championship and that is enough pressure for a young fighter to handle. The fact that the fight is in Jerusalem’s home country of the Philippines only adds to the bright lights of the biggest stage of Kuse’s career.

For the 22-year-old to have any success against the seasoned veteran, he must stay composed, especially during the early moments of the fight where Jerusalem is bound to try to rattle him.