By Dan Ambrose: WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo looked huge at Friday’s weigh-in for his title defense against #1 challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko this Saturday night on Showtime PPV. Charlo (30-0, 22 KOs) looked a little thin and drawn from having drained down to 159.75 pounds, but he still looked two divisions bigger than his opponent, 5’9″ Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KOs).
Derevyancyhenko weighed in slightly less than Jermll at 159.25 lbs, but he looked thicker. You could tell that Derevyanchenko didn’t take off nearly as much weight as Charlo because he looked like he’s ready to start fighting immediately tonight.
In contrast, Charlo looked like a boiled down super middleweight, who is somehow still able to make the 160lb limit after 13 years as a pro.
Size doesn’t mean a lot, though, as we aw in Charlo’s fight against the smaller and much older 36-year-old Matt Korobov in 2018. Even though Charlo had a monstrous size advantage over Korobov in that fight, he was outfought by him, and if not for the generous scoring by the crew of judges assigned to the battle, Jermall would have lost.
Showtime taking a risk with PPV
The Showtime top brass likely realizes that the Charlo brothers doubleheader won’t bring in a lot of pay-per-view buys, given the mind-numbing cost of $75 for the event, as well as the competition from the UFC card that will be taking place that night.
It’s not just that, though. There’s the pandemic going on, massive unemployment, and the fact that neither of the Charlos has ever fought on PPV. They haven’t the type of competition that would raise their fame since they turned pro, and that’s not changing on Saturday night, Jermell Charlo is facing Jeison Rosario, a higher that only the hardcore boxing fans have heard of, and he’s not popular.
Jermall’s opponent, Derevyanchenko, is mostly known for the fights he’s lost as a pro than the ones he’s won. Given the opposition the Charlo brothers are fighting, it’s a huge ask to expect more than a trickle of buys from this fight. I mean, it’s going to be an excellent earning experience by Showtime, who will be able to make adjustments in the future when the Charlos fight.
Instead of putting them on PPV, Showtime will likely stick them non-PPV broadcast and carefully pick a date when UFC isn’t staging one of their cards.
If the Charlo doubleheader turns out to be a train wreck in terms of PPV numbers, then that could be the end for both of them when it comes to pay-per-view, especially if they both lose or look terrible.
“This is like the Super Bowl for us,” Jermall said. “At the end of the day, we’re always ready to fight. This is what we do and this is what we prepare ourselves for. We’re true warriors.”
Too much emphasis on the Charlo twins
If there’s one negative about the promotion of the Charlo brothers doubleheader is the fact that not much has been heard about their opponents. There’s been too much focus on the personalities of Jermall and Jermell. Unfortunately, very little has been said about their opponents.
Showtime should have put more energy into building up the actual fights than celebrating the Charlo twins as if they were both anointed for royalty. It’s going to make Showtime look silly if one or both Charlo brothers lose. They’re already sticking their necks out by putting the card on PPV and asking boxing fans to pay $75, but if they both get beaten, it’s going to be significant pie on their faces.
Charlo-Derevyanchenko card weigh-in results
- Brandon Figueroa 122 lbs. vs. Damien Vazquez 121 ½ lbs.
- John Riel Casimero 117 ¾ lbs. vs. Duke Micah 117 ¼ lbs.
- Jermall Charlo 159 ¾ lbs. vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko 159 ½ lbs.
Jermell Charlo vs. Jeison Rosario card weigh-in results
- Luis Nery 121 ½ lbs. vs. Aaron Alameda 121 ½ lbs.
- Danny Roman 121 ¼ lbs. vs. Juan Carlos Payano 121 ½ lbs.
- Jermell Charlo 153 ¾ lbs. vs. Jeison Rosario 153 ½ lbs.
Jermell Charlo looked like his blood pressure was hovering in the 200 range when he was standing on stage with his opponent IBF/WBA light middleweight champion Jeison Rosario (20-1-1, 14 KOs). Charlo looked keyed up as if Rosario had said something to him, but obviously, he hadn’t. Charlo needs to calm down because he’s too angry all the time, and comes off like he’s super agitated for nothing.
The agitated state that Jermell is always in makes it hard to rally behind the guy because you wonder what’s going on with him. If Jermell just called down a little and had fun with the promotion of his fights, it would make him more popular with the boxing fans. We’ve seen angry fighters before, but those were the knockout artists. Jermell isn’t a knockout artist. He can punch a little, but he’s no Julian Jackson.
That’s just how Jermall is as a person. He’s worked up at all times, and that’s one of the reasons why he’s so beatable. He doesn’t keep his emotions in check and fights with furious anger. Tony Harrison played Charlo like a fiddle in their first fight, and he was getting the better of him in their rematch as well until he got caught.
Jeison has a perfect chance of winning this fight, and I’d be surprised if he loses. He seems to be mentally more self-contained than Jermell, and he doesn’t lose his cool when he gets hit back.
Apart from a controversial decision win, Charlo’s best chance of beating Rosario is if he can knock him out. If he doesn’t stop Rosario, he could get worn down and knocked out by the younger fighter.
