Melvin Jerusalem out, Pedro Taduran in for unification bout with Oscar Collazo in February

Pedro Taduran is officially in talks to fight Oscar Collazo for a Minimumweight title unification bout after fellow Filipino Melvin Jerusalem dropped out of negotiations due to time constraints.

The fight, which will be for the World Boxing Organization (WBO), World Boxing Association (WBA), and International Boxing Federation (IBF) world titles, is slated for February of next year.

For Jerusalem, who is the current World Boxing Council (WBC) king, a February fight is too quick of turnaround, and he’s lobbying for a fight in March instead.

But negotiations between Taduran and Collazo have already started, with the Filipino already returning to training.

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Reigning IBF Champion Pedro Taduran and his team is putting pressure on @Oscalito6 to take the match next but I don’t see it coming. I think Collazo will be smart to stay away from a more dangerous champion and do the rematch first instead. #DuckSZN pic.twitter.com/tHcRFfi1Pn

— OLE (@AJArietaPH) November 11, 2025

Both Filipinos defended their titles last October as part of the festivities of the  50th anniversary of Thrilla in Manila.

Taduran defended his IBF crown with a decision victory against fellow Filipino Christian Balunan in the countdown card, while Jerusalem outlasted African Siyakholwa Kuse to defend his WBC title in the main event of the main show.

They have both wanted a unification bout with WBO and WBA king Oscar Collazo since the Mexican called them out after beating Filipino Jayson Vayson last September.

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