Jermell Charlo moved up two divisions from super-welter to super-middle for his fight against Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez.
It was his twin brother, Jermall, who was first rumoured to be facing the Mexican in September of 2023. That would be a more managable move from 160 to 168, however serious inactivity put paid to that.
Instead, ‘Little’ Charlo – not overly active himself before the bout – packed on 15 pounds for the pleasure. He was outboxed and outclassed on the night, surviving the distance but largely because he didn’t engage with the bigger man.
Canelo did score a knockdown in the seventh, but couldn’t capitalise to score a stoppage. He is still searching for his first early finish since a TKO win over Caleb Plant in 2021.
The run of points wins didn’t stop Charlo, who had lost just once before, branding Alvarez “a beast” at the post-fight press conference.
“Canelo’s a motherf***ing beast.”
Elaborating on his comments, Charlo said the weight, particularly the two division jump, played a part.
“Maybe I felt that more because it was my first time at this weight division. I wish I could’ve gained a little bit more weight, but I can’t control my body like that. God had this already written, and I’m glad I was in there to put on this performance for Showtime pay-per-view.”
On the being put down – a straight right hand that split his guard before an uppercut – Charlo said he instinctively took a knee to clear his head.
“Yeah, that was my true first time feeling a woozy shot. I’m the one always giving them. I knew best, I watch boxing and I’ve been a part of it so long, if I would’ve just jumped out there I could’ve embarrassed myself or s**t could’ve been different. I was smart enough to regroup, recover, and I recovered really fast. I probably could’ve stayed up or whatever but I would’ve just been fighting trying to clear my head.”
The comments are pertinent now because another man in Terence Crawford, who last year made his debut at super-welterweight, wants to make the same jump up to face Canelo. Some in the sport feel that it is too much even for a man of his skillset, and that will likely include Charlo, who hasn’t fought since.
