Siya Kuse fired up for Jerusalem rematch on home soil

The much talked about rematch is set to take place at Emperor’s Palace, Kempton Park on May 16 – seven months after their first tussle in Manila, Philippines. 

In conversation with SABC Sport, the Mdantsane-born boxer says he can’t wait to jump in the ring again. 

“I’ve watched my previous fight with Melvin Jerusalem about three times now, and I’m very excited and happy about this rematch because I thought it would maybe happen next year or much later this year, but getting the opportunity to fight now in May is very exciting,” said Kuse. 

The current WBC straw-weight champion Melvin Jerusalem defended his belt and won a very competitive fight first time around, with many claiming Siya Kuse had won the fight or at the least, the fight was a lot closer than the Judges recorded it. 

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Kuse explained what the judges were looking for from him on that night in Manila, but is quick to mention that he is happy to be fighting on home turf again.  

“The judges said to me that side that they were judging me based on power punches, and not the amount of punches you throw. They said I was throwing a lot of punches, but they weren’t really effective," he noted.

“So now, I will improve on that because I don’t want the fight to go to the judges this time around. I want to end it,” declared the challenger. 

Kuse says he intends on joining a short list of South African greats like, the late great Dingaan Thobela, Kevin Lerena, and Thulani Malinga to fight for and potentially win the most coveted prize in all of boxing. 

“This fight is huge for me, so I need to prove myself to make history on home soil and keep the WBC belt in South Africa,” he concluded.