By Sean Jones: Jermall Charlo (30-0, 22 KOs) put Canelo Alvarez and Demetius Andrade on notice last Saturday night in successfully defending his WBC middleweight belt in beating the game but limited Dennis Hogan (28-3-1, 7 KOs) by a 7th round knockout at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Charlo knocked Hogan down twice in the fight in dropping him in rounds 4 and 7. He ended the fight with a big left hook that knocked Hogan down in the 7th. Hogan surprisingly got back to his feet immediately, but he was too hurt for referee Charlie Fitch to allow him to continue. The fight was halted at 0:28 by referee Fitch.
Afterwards, Charlo made it clear that he’s ready and willing to fight Canelo or Andrade next, but he’s not going to worry if those fights don’t materialize. Charlo views himself as being in the same position as the talented WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford, who hasn’t yet had access to the biggest names available. So instead of getting upset about it, Crawford fights the best opposition availble, and keeps going.
Charlo will fight Andrade if Canelo won’t face him
“I’ll fight anybody. I’m a boxer. I fight for a living,” said Charlo at the post-fight news conference last Saturday about what’s next for him. “I’m not scared of nobody. I got the WBC belt. I earned the belt. They can say they gave it to me, but I put myself in the position to get this belt. I moved up from junior middle, just like the dude that just moved up to fight me. Don’t let the politics and the networks fool you; I’m here to fight.
“I will fight Demetrius Andrade any day,” said Charlo when asked if he’d face Andrade IF he can’t get Canelo Alvarez. “If that’s what it takes to get to the next level, I want to fight the biggest and the baddest out there. I’ll fight in Saudi Arabia too, you know what I mean? You see what they’re doing out there in having fun just boxing.
“Of course, I want to expand it and challenge myself to be the best that I can be. I take fights as they come. And I like to look at myself like I’m in position like Terence Crawford. One of the best in the world and top guys. He’s just got to get the fights that he can get, and keep it going,” said Charlo.
Canelo’s Franchise status puts him out of reach
The World Boxing Council put Canelo out of reach this year when they made him their WBC Franchise middleweight champion. At the time, Charlo was Canelo’s mandatory challenger, and was on his doorstep pushing for a fight. But now that Canelo is the Franchise champion, there’s no way that Charlo can force him to fight him with the help of the WBC.
So if Canelo won’t fight him, Charlo will face the best available opponent in WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade if he’s willing to take him on.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen though, as Andrade’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing is holding out dim hope that Canelo will fight Demetrius. Good luck with that, Hearn. Canelo – and Gennadiy Golovkin – have shown ZERO interest in wanting to fight Andrade. The reasons are simple. Andrade has these things going against him:
- Small fan base
- Southpaw
- Highly defensive fighting style
- Not charismatic
Charlo wants the biggest fights possible
“I want the most explosive fights, and I want to put myself to the tests, and challenge myself against the best competition out there that fits me at the right time” said Charlo at the post-fight news conference last Saturday.
“It’s all about timing. As long as the money is right and the timing is right. I had a couple of game plans coming into the fight. If he tried to fight me, I would box him. And if he tried to box me, I would fight him. I really just wanted to have fun in this fight, and that’s what I did. I thought about doing it a little bit early in turning on the gas and go get him, but I wanted to do my thing in this fight.
“Dennis Hogan showed great heart in stepping up to me, and trying to fight me. He was a little slippery, and a little tricky, but I figured him out. And he did exactly what Leprechauns do. He had awkward movement. His movement wasn’t like normal. He had survival tactics from the beginning. I could have stepped back, and did what I had to do and land my shots, but I wanted to be precise, so I came out with my left hook. You know, I love my left hook. I’m glad I got a chance to land it on him,” said Charlo.
It’s more likely the case that Charlo will need to keep grinding away with his career, and just keep defending against the contenders rather than getting the big fights. Canelo may one day in the future decide on fighting Charlo, but it won’t happen unless the boxing public demands that fight to happen.
Charlo: If Andrade wants to fight, we’ll make it happen
There’s not a huge demand for Canelo to face Charlo right now due to his smaller fan base. Charlo hasn’t been fighting at middleweight long enough for him to win over a lot of casual boxing fans.
“Demetrius Andrade, he’s a great fighter,” said Charlo. “I like his campaign, but now he’s chasing. He had a chance to fight my twin brother [Jermell], but he cancelled the opportunity. Look, he’s hiding behind a network right now [DAZN]. I’m not. And I’m Lions Only Promotions, and it’s all over the ring. Come on, man. We’re not going nowhere, and we’re not scared of nobody.
“Look, that’s what we do, bro. We fight for a living. If he wants to make the fight, we going to make the fight happen. A-side, B-side, C-side, I don’t give a f— about none of that. We going to make the fight happen. If Demetrius Andrade wants to fight, he can get that work too. He knows how to get over here, just like he went over to DAZN. He knows how to get his a– back over here,” said Charlo.