By Jim Dower: WBC light middleweight champion Jermell Charlo (31-0, 15 KOs) has reportedly been arrested for allegedly chocking his girlfriend Jazmyne Olison, according to ESPN. The 28-year-old Charo will have a hearing on August 1.
This is a felony charge for an alleged incident that took place last May. Charlo ended up getting arrested on May 18 and booked at the Dallas County Jail. According to ESPN, Charlo is denying the charges. Charlo’s girlfriend Jazmyne Olison filed for a civil protection order against him last month on June 14. This is a very serious thing for Charlo. He’s going to have to deal with this.
Charlo is coming off of a 12 round unanimous decision over former WBA junior middleweight champion Austin Trout on June 9 in a one-sided fight in Los Angeles, California.
”[Charlo] committed the said offense by intentionally, knowingly, and recklessly impeding [Olison’s] normal breathing and circulation of blood by applying pressure to [her] throat and neck and by blocking [her] nose and mouth,” said ESPN from the indictment.
With recent impressive wins over Austin Trout, Erickson Lubin, Charles Hatley and John Jackson, Charlo is on his way to super-stardom in the 154-lb weight class. There’s been talk of Charlo facing IBF/WBA junior middleweight champion Jarrett Hurd in a unification fight soon.
The felony domestic abuse charge that is hanging over Charlo’s head has a question has things looking uncertain with his career. Charlo will need to take care of his legal problems now. These legal issues will need to be dealt with by the recently turned 28-year-old Charlo.
“Jermell is not guilty and is looking forward to his day in court,” attorney Mike Howard said to RingTV.com. “The evidence in this case is clear and conclusive and does not support these allegations.”
It’s unclear whether there are any witnesses to this alleged case of domestic abuse.
Charlo and his twin brother Jermall Charlo have looked amazing in the last two years in winning world titles, and defending them in impressive fashion. Jermall is a former IBF 154 lb. champion, who vacated his title and moved up to middleweight to win the interim WBC title recently. Jermall is waiting for the World Boxing Council to order a fight between him and WBC middleweight champion Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin.
What remains to be seen is whether Charlo will be able to return to the ring to defend his WBC title anytime soon. With strangulation allegedly being involved in the domestic charge, it remains to be seen how this is dealt with in Texas. It’s a felony charge, and that’s bad. If convicted, Charlo would be dealing with a major headache. Charlo is a very talented fighter, but he could be on the shelf for a while if he’s convicted.