CEBU, Philippines – ‘Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.’
This dictum immortalized by the great Confucius now becomes the guiding light of ALA boxer Melvin ‘Gringo’ Jerusalem as he recharges his drive to become a world champion someday after a failed bid in Thailand exactly a week ago recently.
In his first world title shot right in his first trip abroad, the 22-year-old Jerusalem showed some class before losing by a razor-hin decision to the undefeated Thai champ Wanheng Menayothin in their WBC minimumweight championship bout last January 25 in Phitsanuloke province.
Two judges scored it 114-113 while the other had it 115-113 for Menayothin in a down to the wire match that could have gone either way.
Behind in the scorecards going into round nine, Jerusalem finished strong but a one point deduction for a low blow in round eight proved to costly for the fighting pride of Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. It was his first taste of defeat after a rousing 11-0 start packed with 7KOs.
For a budding fighter seeing action behind enemy lines against a highly touted unbeaten champ, Jerusalem was superb and performed beyond expections even though in the losing end. Freeman ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch:
“I was a bit disappointed after the decision was announced because I really gave my all and tried my best to win,” said Jerusalem in vernacular during a visit to The Freeman office yesterday.
But everything is now a thing of the past for Jerusalem, who now looks forward with renewed vigor that he can fulfill his childhood dreams one day.
“I learned my lessons well from that loss. I still have a lot of things to improve on and will work even harder to be the best boxer I can possibly be,” said Jerusalem.
After a two-week vacation, Jerusalem will again skip ropes, punch mitts and hit the heavy bags, this time with deep sense of commitment in carrying out his mission.
“I will be back, stronger and more determined to reach my goal of becoming a world champion someday,” vowed Jerusalem. (FREEMAN)
