THE plans to unify all four minimumweight (105 pounds) titles in pro boxing will kick off in March, when reigning WBC champion Melvin “Gringo” Jerusalem takes on WBO-WBA counterpart Oscar Collazo of Puerto Rico in a very intriguing rematch.
The country currently has two reigning world boxing champions and they both compete in the minimumweight or strawweight division, the sport’s lightest weight class.
Jerusalem holds the WBC title while Pedro Taduran owns the IBF version.
The unbeaten Collazo (13-0, 11 knockouts) is generally recognized as the best champion in the weight class.
In May 2023, in Indio, California, Collazo hammered out a seventh round technical knockout victory over Jerusalem to win the WBO minimumweight crown.
Jerusalem showed up in the fight as the defending WBO champ, having won the title in January 2023 over Japanese Masataka Taniguchi.
Jerusalem’s reign as WBO champ proved to be short-lived as Collazo stopped him inside seven rounds.
Jerusalem was competitive in the first three rounds. Collazo, however, took over in the next four rounds with body shots and well-timed combinations. A right hook from Collazo at the end of the seventh round visibly hurt Jerusalem.
Battered and fatigued, Jerusalem stayed on his stool as his trainer Michael Domingo called for the fight to be stopped.
Collazo became a world champ in only his seventh fight, making him the fastest Puerto Rican to win world boxing title.
After beating Jerusalem, Collazo started working on becoming Puerto Rico’s first male undisputed champion of the four-belt era (WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF).
In November 2024, Collazo added the WBA minimumweight crown by stopping Thailand’s Thammanoon Niyomtrong (also known as Knockout CP Freshmart) in seven rounds.
Collazo dominated the fight, mopping the canvas with Niyomtrong’s face three times. Collazo’s victory ended the Thai’s 10-year reign as WBA minimumweight champ. The win also gave Collazo the WBO and WBA jewels.
In his last fight, September 2025, Collazo stopped Filipino Jayson Vayson in seven frames to retain the unified WBO-WBA minimumweight title.
Knocked down in the opening round, Vayson came back strong and had his moments. A body shot from the Filipino even hurt Collazo.
Inexplicably, Vayson’s handers threw in the white towel in the seventh round.
Collazo, 29, is the smart money pick to prevail over Jerusalem.
However, Jerusalem has greatly improved since their first meeting in 2023.
Jerusalem, 25-3 with 12 knockouts, has won five straight contests since losing to Collazo. In March 2024, Jerusalem became a world boxing champ again when he outlasted Yudai Shigeoka of Japan in 12 rounds to become WBC champion.
Jerusalem has chalked up three successful defenses of the WBC diadem. Jerusalem likes his chances going into the rematch with Collazo, adding that he will be better prepared when they square off.
The Collazo-Jerusalem rematch is being penciled for California. The exact venue has yet to be finalized as of this writing.
The winner of the contest will be recognized as the first boxer to simultaneously hold at least three (WBA, WBC and WBO) of the four generally recognized belts.
Waiting in the wings will be IBF champ Taduran (19-4, 13 knockouts).
The hard-hitting Taduran is a two-time IBF minimumweight champ. He first won the vacant title in September 2019, when he stopped countryman Samuel Salva.
Taduran lost the IBF belt to countryman Rene Mark Cuarto in February 2021. In July 2024, he regained the IBF crown by demolishing Ginjiro Shigeoka in nine rounds.
Taduran has made two successful defenses of the IBF crown, the last one coming by way of a decision win over countryman Christian Balunan in October 2025.
The winner of Collazo-Jerusalem will become the first boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and WBO minimumweight crowns.
If Jerusalem emerges victorious, he will end up meeting IBF titlist Taduran for the undisputed (WBA, WBC, WBO) minimumweight championship.
No Filipino boxer has ever been crowned undisputed champion in the four-belt era. Jerusalem and Taduran are in a race to pull off the milestone.