By Dan Ambrose: David Benavidez was quick to call out Jermall Charlo last Saturday night following his 12 round war with the unheralded Juan Macias Montiel in Houston, Texas.
Former two-time WBC super middleweight champion Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs) let Jermall know on social media that he’s ready to make a fight between them happen now.
With that said, Benavidez made it clear that the reason why Charlo didn’t fight him this time is that he knows he’d get knocked out.
The way that Charlo went life and death with Montiel, 27, last Saturday night, it would be a good idea for him to stay away from Benavidez.
Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) successfully defended his WBC middleweight title against the young upstart #4 WBC Montiel (22-5-22 KOs), but it was anything but easy.
Montiel hurt the 31-year-old Charlo many times in the fight and showed that he’s starting to age a little. On the other hand, perhaps all the nice paydays and being one of the nouveau riche has softened Jermall up, leaving him vulnerable to one of the hungry lions.
Benavidez vows to stop Jermall
“I’ll stop [the] dude, I promise @futureofboxing [Jermall Charlo],” said David Benavidez on Twitter in reacting to Jermall’s win over Juan Macias Montiel last Saturday night.
“That’s why he didn’t want to fight me for this fight. @Futureofboxing, you know where I’m at. Let’s make this s*** happen next,” said Benavidez.
Even before his poor performance against Montiel, Charlo had already set up obstacles to keep Benavidez from getting at him by saying that he fights at 168 and that he’s still campaigning at 160.
Charlo did say that he would be open to fighting Benavidez, albeit at a catchweight between 160 and 168. We haven’t heard whether Benavidez will agree to that offer by Charlo, but it’s not likely to happen.
Charlo is 31-years-old now, and it doesn’t play in his favor to wait three to five years before moving up to 168. But, on the other hand, if Charlo does move up eventually in that time frame, Benavidez will still be young at 27 to 29, and he’s likely to be at his best.
It’s doubtful that Charlo will still be in his prime when he hits 34 to 36. Jermall could be food for Benavidez at that point, and that’s why he must make the fight with him now.
Montiel talks about hurting Charlo
“I think I made quite a leap today, and I hope to keep getting these opportunities,” said Montiel at the post-fight news conference last Saturday night after his loss to Charlo.
“I feel like I reached another level after this fight. I hope to fight more number one in the future and become a world champion myself.
“I saw an opportunity to come out with a win at that moment, but he’s number one for a reason. He was able to pull through and survive,” said Montiel when asked about his thoughts on hurting Jermall Charlo in round eight.
“It was my hunger to be a world champion that allowed me to survive, my determination to pull through this fight and become a world champion,” Montiel in describing how he was able to survive being hurt by Charlo.
“I felt like I had to go through this to prove that I belong in the major leagues of boxing. Now that I have, I’m ready for whatever comes next,” said Montiel.
Charlo was there to be knocked out if the 27-year-old Montiel hadn’t come up short with his follow-up punches after hurting him in the eighth. It would have been interesting if he had knocked Charlo out because there would have been a rematch.