By William Lloyd: WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) can’t afford to overlook his opponent Juan Macias Montiel (22-4-2, 22 KOs) this Saturday night on Showtime at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Jermall will be making his fourth defense in his WBC title in his homecoming fight in front of his fans. It’s one of those types of fights where Charlo can’t afford to look bad, as he’ll b battling in his backyard.
(Photo credit: Sean Michael Ham/TGB Promotions)
Charlo needs to shine
For Jermall to be taken seriously as a future opponent for Canelo, he’s got to beat Montiel in style. That means Jermall can’t afford to get stunned or knocked down because the fans will be dismissive of him if he can’t dominate this guy.
More than anything, Charlo needs the fans to put pressure on Canelo to force him to face him. Without the fans demanding Canelo fight Jermall, he’s not going to do it. Canelo will continue to look for beatable guys, as he’s been doing more or less consistently since 2018.
Montiel, 27, is easily the biggest puncher Charlo will have faced as a professional, and he’s going to have to stay alert not to get hit too much by this guy.
Although Charlo has faced strong puncher before like Julian ‘J-Rock’ Williams, Matt Korobov, and Cornelius Bundrage, he’s not fought anyone like Montiel in terms of power
Jermall, 31, is coming off of a 12 round war against Sergiy ‘The Technician’ Derevyanchenko last September, which he won by a 12 round unanimous decision.
That was far from an easy win for Charlo, as he was often early and often throughout the fight. Jermall eventually dominated down the stretch against the 34-year-old Derevyanchenko, but it was a tough one.
Is Jermall Charlo the guy to beat Canelo?
“Jermall has some power, and he’s coming off some good wins,” said Paulie Malignaggi to BOXXER.
“He’s lighting u the middleweight division, and the only one around those weights that beats Canelo; notwithstanding at light heavyweight.
“I think some of the light heavyweights are going to be too big for Canelo. If we’re talking about middleweight and middleweight, I think Jermall Charlo is the guy that beats Canelo, and I think that’s the fight for him.
“We’ll see how he looks against Montiel, who comes in with a puncher’s chance. But Jermall has a really explosive style, and he’s really looking his best each and every fight.
“That Derevyanchenko win was really, really impressive because Dervyanchenko troubled a lot of guys. He forced Jermall to fight, but Jermall passed that test and looked good doing it.
“He’s a guy who is really if you’re a true boxing fan, who you to look forward to seeing.
“You have to demand this Canelo fight because this is the one at this point, in my opinion, is the one to make for Canelo with a legitimate shot at beating Canelo.
“With all the respect to Caleb Plant, who is a good fighter, I don’t know if he beats Canelo. That doesn’t mean you’re a bad fighter just because you don’t beat Canelo.
“Canelo is an excellent fighter, but I do think Jermall is the fighter that beats Canelo if they were to fight right now.
“Let’s see how he looks against Montiel, and there will obviously be opinions after that,” said Malignaggi.
Jermall has the power, stamina, size, and talent to beat Canelo. That might be one reason why the Mexican star has chosen not to fight him in the last 12 years.
Canelo can’t avoid fighting a guy like Jermall if he weren’t ducking him, which appears to be the case.
