It was an important learning curve for him, but The Ring's No. 4-rated strawweight expected to get back in line for a second opportunity. However, when the much discussed unification between Jerusalem and Ring, WBA and WBO champion Oscar Collazo fell apart in March, Kuse's promoter Rodney Berman swept in.

He quickly brokered a deal to bring Jerusalem to South Africa, securing home advantage this time for their immediate rematch on Saturday at Emperors Palace, Johannesburg.

"I thank my promoter for giving me this opportunity," Kuse (9-3-1, 4 KOs) told The Ring. "I have to prove myself, make corrections, correct my guard, protect myself and [up my] work rate, throwing power punches.

"Me and my team, we prepared and are ready for him. I'm very excited the fight is here [at home] because I will fight in front of my people and hold that belt in front of them."

Golden Gloves CEO Berman was keen to make the rematch when it presented itself.

"It was a very close fight in The Philippines and we all expected it would go to Jerusalem, but had it been in South Africa, he [Kuse] would have won the fight," said the veteran promoter.

"What upset me wasn't the decision so much, it was the disparity in the scoring. Two of the judges gave it by four points to Jerusalem."

Having shared the ring together seven months ago, both are aware of what the other brings to the fight, so who can make corrections and adapt better will likely have the advantage.

"[Jerusalem's] a good boxer, he can punch," said the challenger. "[But I'm] 100 percent confident, I'm going to beat him."

Berman believes the experience of the first fight, fighting overseas and getting an unexpected quick return will serve his fighter well.

"He learned a lot, put up a great fight, was much better than even I thought, fighting in hostile territory for the first time and handled it brilliantly," said Berman. "I wouldn't have gone to this trouble unless he was going to be the champion.

"As good as he is and [trainer] Manny [Fernandez] saw certain deficiencies which he's sorted out. We're very confident."

Fernandez, who also oversees stablemate Ricardo Malajika, has prepared his fighter accordingly.

"It's managing the rounds, managing the work rate," he explained. "There's a few things we need to adjust and Siya understands. It's the quality of punches that counts.

"The rules say protect yourself at all times and that means keep your hands up at all times. Whereas in the amateurs they say, 'break' and the guys drop their hands, Jerusalem was clever with his experience, he took one step back and came straight back at Siya to scored a lot of points that way."

Meanwhile the 27-year-old, who comes from humble beginnings in the Eastern Cape, was a good amateur, winning three national titles and fought in other countries.

However, going to The Philippines was drastically different for him having had all his professional fights at home.

Now he has ticked that box, he is more battle-hardened and if he can win the world title it would allow him to improve his life as well as his family.

"It would mean a lot to me, it was my dream when I was an amateur," he said. "I used to say, "One day, I will be one of the great boxers in South Africa.

"I came from a struggling family. It would change a lot. I said, 'I will do everything for my family. I will buy a house for them.' It would allow me to do better things for my family."

Jerusalem, The Ring's No. 1-rated strawweight, fell narrowly short when losing a 12-round decision to then-WBC champion Wanheng Menayothin. He made amends in his second opportunity, scoring a second-round finish of Masataka Taniguchi for the WBO strap.

He yielded the title in his first defense against Collazo (RTD7) but impressively bounced back to annex the WBC title from Yudai Shigeoka with a 12-round split decision. He has made three defenses, including a Shigeoka rematch and Kuse last time out.