By Sean Jones: Jermall Charlo will be defending his WBC interim middleweight title against Brandon Adams on June 15 on SHOWTIME, according to ESPN. Adams (21-2, 14 KOs) had been deciding recently between facing former IBF/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin or Jermall. Adams, 29, has decided to face Charlo instead.
Adams might have been offered more money to fight Charlo (28-0, 22 KOs) on Premier Boxing Champions on Showtime rather than taking on GGG on DAZN. The only other explanation that one can come up with for why Adams decided to go in the direction of Charlo rather than GGG is that he thinks he’s got a better chance of beating him. Charlo looked less than stellar in his last fight against Matt Korobov on December 22. Adams might have seen that fight and figured that he can do a better job against Charlo and get the ‘W’ against him to set himself up for a title shot against Charlo. Golovkin has a lot more experience than Charlo. Moreover, Adams said he sparred Golovkin in the past, and he remarked that it was the hardest he’d ever been hit before or since.
“Jermall Charlo to face Brandon Adams on June 15th on Showtime… #boxing @espn,” said Steve Kim from ESPN.
Last week there were a number of boxing sites that jumped the gun, putting out news that Adams had agreed to fight Golovkin. It looks like they were all wrong. Oh well, that’s how it goes.
ESPN Boxcino tournament fighter Adams has had problems when stepping it up against better opposition in the last five years. Adams was beaten by John Thompson by a second round knockout in May 2015, and before that he lost to Willie Monroe Jr. by a 10 round unanimous decision in May 2014. Adams has a four fight winning streak that he’s put together after being out of the ring for three years following his 2nd round knockout loss to Thompson in May 2015. Adams came back in May of last year, and he’s quickly beaten Tyrone Brunson, Ievgen Khytrov, Eric Walker and Shane Mosley Jr. Adams is ranked #3 WBA and #8 WBO.
Charlo, 28, is coming off easily the worst performance of his career in beating 2008 Russian Olympian Matt Korobov (28-2, 14 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision on December 22 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The win for Charlo was a controversial one, as the southpaw Korobov was seemingly getting the better of him in the majority of the fight. The judges scored it for Charlo 116-112, 119-108 and 116-112. The boxing public saw Korobov winning the fight. Charlo looked like he was out of his league in fighting the more technical, and far more experienced Korobov.
Charlo is an excellent fighter, but he didn’t have the same amateur background that Korobov had. That much was apparent in watching Korobov nail Charlo with shots the entire night. The results of the fight made Charlo look like he was gifted a decision in the eyes of a lot of people. Charlo was originally supposed to fight former world title challenger Willie Monroe Jr., but he dropped out a week before the fight. Korobov then stepped in and replaced him, and Charlo was not ready for that kind of a style.
Adams choosing to fight Charlo instead leaves open the question of who Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) will be facing in his first fight of his three-year contract with DAZN this June. It’s believed that Golovkin, 36, won’t take on a fighter in a risky fight, because he’s coming off of a loss and a layoff. With the trilogy fight against Saul Canelo Alvarez expected to take place this September, Golovkin would have too much to lose if he were to take on someone like WBO champion Demetrius Andrade.
The other name that was floated recently as a possible opponent for Golovkin’s next fight in June is Kamil Szeremeta. He’s now in the spotlight. With the high ranking that #3 WBC Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam has with the World Boxing Council, he could be an option as well. Those fighters are ranked high enough with the WBC to get a title shot against Canelo in the near future unless he vacates or loses. It could be a self-defeating move on N’Dam and Szeremeta’s part for them to take a fight against GGG unless they’re going to receive the same kind of money they would get in facing Canelo.