Jerusalem vs Kuse II

Who won Jerusalem vs Kuse II?

Siyakholwa Kuse beat Melvin Jerusalem by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest on Saturday, May 16th, 2026, at Emperors Palace, Kempton Park.

The scorecards were announced as 116-111, 115-112, 116-112 in favor of winner Siyakholwa Kuse.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Minimumweight division, which meant the weight limit was 105 pounds (7.5 stone or 47.6 kg).

This contest was for the WBC minimumweight championship of the world.

Kuse was defending his his WBC World Minimumweight Championship for the first time. He won this belt against Melvin Jerusalem in May 2026. He had held this belt for 25 days.

Jerusalem vs Kuse II stats

Melvin Jerusalem stepped into the ring with a record of 25 wins, 3 losses, and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Siyakholwa Kuse made his way to the ring with a record of 9 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw, with 4 of those wins by knockout.

The stats suggested Jerusalem had a slight advantage in power over Kuse, with a 48% knockout percentage compared to Kuse's 44%.

Melvin Jerusalem was the older man by 10 years, at 32 years old.

Kuse had a height advantage of 1 inch over Jerusalem.

Both Melvin Jerusalem and Siyakholwa Kuse fought out of an orthodox stance.

Jerusalem was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 15 more fights, and made his debut in 2014, 3 years and 9 months earlier than Kuse, whose first professional fight was in 2018. He had fought 81 more professional rounds, totaling 200 compared to Kuse's 119.

Siyakholwa Kuse was ranked number 2 by the WBC in the 105lb division.

Jerusalem vs Kuse II form

Melvin Jerusalem had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Siyakholwa Kuse on October 29, 2025, by unanimous decision in their WBC World Minimumweight championship fight at Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Philippines.

Prior to that, he had defeated Yudai Shigeoka on March 30, 2025, by unanimous decision in their WBC World Minimumweight championship fight at Aichi Sky Expo, Tokoname, Japan.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Luis Angel Castillo on September 22, 2024, by unanimous decision in their WBC World Minimumweight championship fight at Mandaluyong City College Gymnasium, Metro Manila, Philippines.

Before that, he had won against Yudai Shigeoka on March 31, 2024, by split decision in their WBC World Minimumweight championship fight at International Conference Hall, Nagoya, Japan.

He had been beaten by Oscar Collazo on May 27, 2023, by split decision in the 7th round in their WBO World Minimumweight championship fight at Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, United States.

Activity check

Jerusalem's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 19 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 7 months and 5 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 55 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 11 rounds on average.

What time did Jerusalem vs Kuse II start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 8:30 PM UTC at Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa, which was 4:30 PM EST or 1:30 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 9:30 PM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Jerusalem vs Kuse II?

Melvin Jerusalem was a 4/7 (-160) favorite going into the contest, while Siyakholwa Kuse made his way into the ring at 5/4 (+130) with oddsmakers.