Jermall Charlo moving up to 168, wants David Benavidez

By Boxing News - 04/26/2020 - Comments

By Chris Williams: Jermall Charlo says he’s moving up to 168 and he wants to take on WBC champion David Benavidez. The unbeaten Charlo (30-0, 22 KOs) currently holds the WBC middleweight title, but the division has cleared out of big names with Canelo Alvarez, having moved up to 168.

The super middleweight division is suddenly the place to go for the best fights. Jermall is making a smart move in going up 168, seeing that the 160-pound division has emptied.

Stardom beckons for Jermall at super middleweight

The only big name left at 160 is 38-year-old Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin, and he hasn’t got much time left. Moreover, GGG likely will never fight Charlo. He fights on a different platform as him on PBC on Showtime.

Charlo will be able to apply massive pressure on Canelo Alvarez at 168, and he’ll put the Mexican star in a position where he’ll soon need to face him if he doesn’t want to be viewed as ducking him.

One other advantage for Jermall in going up to super middleweight is it puts him in position to move up to 175 to snag big fights against IBF/WBC champion Artur Beterbiev and WBA champ Dmitry Bivol.

Canelo didn’t want any part of either of those fighters, but Charlo isn’t afraid.

Image: Jermall Charlo moving up to 168, wants David Benavidez

Charlo moving up to 168

168 here I come. I’ve got the approval,” said Jermall Charlo on social media. “If you don’t get that rematch with [David] Benavidez, I’ll take it. You saw what happened to [Erickson] Lubin when my brother [Jermell] fought him?

“He was dumb as f***. We are going to get it and we are going to show him. Let them keep talking ****. I’m going to come up to 168 and f**** the whole game up,” said Jermall.

WBC middleweight champion Benavidez (22-0, 19 KOs) beat Anthony Dirrell by a ninth-round knockout on September 28. Charlo is good friends with Dirrell, and he’d like nothing better than to avenge his defeat by beating the 22-year-old Benavidez.

In moving up in weight to 168, Charlo will be given a high ranking by the World Boxing Council. Charlo won’t need to start from the bottom like most fighters do when they move up in weight, and that it shouldn’t take long for him to get a title shot Benavidez.

Besides Charlo, Jermall, 29, wants to face WBA ‘regular’ 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez. It’ll take more work for Charlo to get a crack at Canelo, being that he fights on DAZN, and he’s with Golden Boy Promotions.

In moving up to 168, Charlo can go after these fighters:

  • David Benavidez – WBC
  • Callum Smith – WBA
  • Canelo Alvarez – WBA ‘regular’
  • Caleb Plant – IBF
  • Billy Joe Saunders – WBO
  • Daniel Jacobs

Image: Jermall Charlo moving up to 168, wants David Benavidez

Jermall making the right move

With Charlo’s size, he can fight at 168 and 175 given frame and power. Staying at 160 would be hard for Charlo because he’s already looking drained after melting down to the 160-pound limit.

Look at it this way. If Charlo stayed at 160, he’d have no one to fight, and he would be struggling to make weight. With Golovkin and Canelo not showing interest in fighting Charlo, the only fighter worthwhile for him to defend against is Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

It’s not that Derevyanchenko is a famous fighter. It’s more of a case where Charlo could show the boxing world what he can do against an opponent that gave Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs huge problems.

If Charlo stays at 160, these are the only fights available for him:

  • Sergiy Derevyanchenko
  • Jaime Munguia
  • Kamil Szeremeta
  • Maciel Sulecki
  • Chris Eubank, Jr.
  • Liam Williams

None of those fighters are big names or even close, and Jermall would be watching his career going nowhere fast. It would be a waste for him.

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