Yudai Shigeoka and Melvin Jerusalem are set to run it back exactly 52 weeks after their first meeting.
Kameda Promotions formally announced the WBC strawweight title fight rematch, which will headline a March 30 ABEMA-TV show from Aichi Sky Expo in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
The sequel will take place exactly 52 weeks from Jerusalem’s split decision win on the road to become a two-time strawweight titlist. Their first meeting also took place at this very venue last Easter.
The attractive fight is part of a two-day festival that also includes the March 29 Angel Ayala-Masamichi Yabuki IBF flyweight title fight. Both shows were revealed during a press conference on Monday, local time in Osaka, Japan.
Tokyo’s Shigeoka (9-1, 5 KOs) was The Ring’s No. 2 strawweight at the time. He has since dipped to No. 4, while the Philippines’ Jerusalem (23-3, 12 KOs) holds the No. 1 spot.
Oscar Collazo (11-0, 8 KOs) is The Ring, WBA and WBO champion. He won the WBO belt in a May 2023 sixth-round stoppage of Jerusalem in Indio, California.
Jerusalem has since won three in a row, including his upset over Shigeoka. A pair of knockdowns provided the margin of victory for the 30-year-old Filipino, who floored Shigeoka in the third and sixth rounds.
One successful defense followed for Jerusalem, a twelve-round decision over then-unbeaten Luis Castillo last Sept. 22 in Mandaluyong City, Philippines.
The loss for Shigeoka marked the start of a year to forget for the family. Ginjiro Shigeoka (11-1, 9 KOs), Yudai’s younger brother, suffered his first defeat and the end of his IBF title reign. Both came in an upset ninth-round knockout loss to the Philippines’ Pedro Taduran (17-4-1, 13 KOs) last July 22 in Shiga, Japan.
Yudai Shigeoka has since returned to the win column with a ten-round, unanimous decision over Samuel Salva (20-2, 13 KOs) last Aug. 24 in Osaka.
Jake Donovan is part of the U.S. team for The Ring. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.