Jermall Charlo explains why he won’t fight David Benavidez

By Boxing News - 03/23/2021 - Comments

By Sean Jones: In an odd interview by Jermall Charlo this week, he says he can beat David Benavidez, but he won’t be going up in weight to fight him. Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) says he’d rather stay at 160 and fight WBO middleweight champion, Demetrius Andrade because there’s nothing to gain in fighting Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs).

In the same interview, Charlo briefly said he was ready to fight former WBC 168-lb champion Benavidez, but then moments later, he seemed to talk himself out of it, dismissing him by saying that he’s just a kid.

What was clear by the end of the interview is the 31-year-old Jermall has no intentions of fighting Benavidez, and that he likely will never fight him. It was good to find that out because it saves time on talking about a fight that Jermall has no interest in.

Instead of fighting Benavidez, Charlo will stay at 160, and try and fight whoever. In the interview, Charlo mentioned wanting to fight both Golovkin and Andrade, but it’s quite possible that he might talk himself out of fighting either of them if they showed interest in facing him.

Like a lot of fighters that have made a little money in boxing, Jermall seems to be content with what he has, not willing to take any risks with his career by fighting someone that could possibly beat him.

We see it all the time with fighters. Without the networks putting pressure on them to fight opposition that the fans want to see, the champions stop talking risks and just milk their titles against the mediocre contenders.

We’re seeing that with Charlo. Jermall’s twin brother Jermell is the risk-talker, and he doesn’t seem afraid to take on the best, as we saw recently with his fights against Jeison Rosario and Tony Harrison.

Charlo: People don’t know Benavidez

Ain’t nowhere in the hell, David Benavidez can touch me,” said Jermall Charlo to Brian Custer at his Last Stand Podcast.

Image: Jermall Charlo explains why he won't fight David Benavidez

“Obviously, Derevyanchenko didn’t prove nothing because y’all told me that fight was going to get me Canelo.

“I beat him the way I beat him, and y’all still don’t give me no credit. So, go to 168 to fight this f*** bum [David Benavidez], this bum a** lttle kid.

“He’s [Benavidez] a kid, bro. Put my life on the line to fight his bum a** little kid, who don’t got nothing to offer, not even money. People don’t even know him until they mention my name,” said Jermall about Benavidez.

It’s disappointing how Jermall demeans Benavidez and dismisses him by calling the 24-year-old a kid. By referring to him as a “kid,” it gives him cover for ducking the fight.

It’s unclear what Charlo thought he was going to gain in fighting Sergiy Derevyanchenko, as that guy was coming off a LOSS to Gennady Golovkin.

What did Charlo think he was going to gain from fighting a fighter that had just lost his last fight and taken a bad beating. Derevyanchenko’s face was torn up by GGG in their war in October 2019.

Jermall sees nothing to gain fighting Benavidez

“They want to see me beat his a**,” Charlo continued about Benavidez. “They want to see me go up in weight, to do something I’ve never did before.

Image: Jermall Charlo explains why he won't fight David Benavidez

“Go up in weight and fight somebody in a whole another weight class and then go back down in weight because I’m the champ down here anyway.

“What is it going to be a 10 round fight? Is it not going to be for a belt? Is it an eliminator? What makes sense, bro? Y’all got to think about what you’re saying?

“How is that ducking? It’s been a business. I’ll never stop being a business from this point on. How is that ducking anybody? I’m a fighter. I’ve never been scared of nobody, no man on earth that walks on two feet,” Charlo said.

There would be a lot to gain by Charlo if he were to beat Benavidez. After all, this is a guy that Canelo Alvarez has arguably ducked for years.

If Jermall would show some courage in moving up to 168 to take on Benavidez, it would show the fans that’s brave enough to face a real threat instead of the lesser opposition he’s been facing.

These are Jermall’s opponents in the last three years:

  • Brandon Adams
  • Dennis Hogan
  • Sergiy Derevyanchenko – *after he lost to Golovkin
  • Hugo Centeno
  • Jorge Sebastian Heiland
  • Matt Korobov

Charlo says he would rather fight Andrade than Benavidez

“This is a little boy [Benavidez] that you’re talking about. I had the belt, when I won the championship, this mother f*** was just getting out of braces and s***,” Jermall said.

“Y’all talking about me ducking somebody. Talk to me for real. He’s a little kid. I watched Andre [correction: Anthony] Dirrell beat his a** until he got cut.

“Did y’all just see his [Benavidez] last fight against a C-level fighter [Ronald Ellis]? Did you see how many times he hit him? The dude [Benavidez] is there to be hit.

“He comes at me and it’s a different level, it’s a different ballgame. I campaign at 160. The pressure is on me to move up to fight this clown?

“I’ll take the [Demetrius] Andrade fight before that. I’ll stay at 160 and do my thug. I’m with all that, bro. They tripping.

YouTube video

“When have I ducked somebody? I beat whoever Al [Haymon] put in front of me. I never asked for a fight, I never know my opponent and I never know how much I’m making. I just fight.,” said Jermall.

Fighting WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade would be a huge upgrade for Jermall compared to the guys he’s been facing during his career, but he would still gain more from fighting Benavidez.

Most boxing fans would agree that Andrade isn’t as popular as Benavidez is, and if Jermall doesn’t see that, it’s sad. Someone needs to clue him in.

Benavidez’s last opponent Ronald Ellis took a lot of punishment in their fight, and most fighters wouldn’t have been able to withstand what he took.

Jermall likely would have wilted if he took half of the shots that Ellis did. That fight should have been stopped because Ellis got beat up badly. It was difficult to watch because it wasn’t competitive in the least.