By Huck Allen: Jermall Charlo says he’s interested in moving up to 168 to take on the winner of Saturday’s fight between Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant.
The unbeaten WBC middleweight champion Charlo (32-0,22 KOs) says he’d be interested in fighting Canelo or Plant in a mega-fight in 2022.
In the meantime, Charlo, 31, says his management is looking to put together a “mega-fight” for him immediately.
Jermall mentioned wanting to fight IBF middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin after he faces WBA ‘Super World’ champion Ryota Murata on December 29th.
While Golvokin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) is busy with Murata (16-2, 13 KOs), Charlo mentioned WBO 160-lb champion Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade as someone that he could fight in a unification.
If Jermall beats Andrade (30-0, 18 KOs) in a two-belt unification, it would set up an undisputed clash between him and the Golovkin vs. Murata winner.
Charlo would be putting tremendous pressure on the winner of the Golovkin-Murata fight for them to face him with all four belts at stake, and it’s the best strategy to force one of those two fighters to face him.
Jermall wants Golovkin or Andrade unification
“We’re looking at something soon, we’ll be announcing a date,” said Jermall Charlo to PBC Podcast when asked when he plans on fighting next.
“Right now everything is up for grabs. Everyone is fighting now for anyone that would be on the radar. We’re going to look at it to play out and then we’ll figure out where to move from there.
“Like I said, my team is working together to try and put together a mega-fight. Canelo called me out, so we’ll see what happens with the rematch.
“[Demetrius] Andrade has been talking, and [Gennadiy] Golovkin is about to unify [against WBA middleweight champion Ryota Murata], so maybe we can fight for all the belts or something like that. We’ll figure it out.
“His [Golovkin] handlers are great, so like I said, anything is possible. It would be a mega-fight. If he wins his fight with Murata and unifies, and then we can unify together. It’s a big fight, it’s a major fight,” said Jermall.
Fighting Andrade next is the way to go for Jermall to set up the undisputed fight between him and the Golovkin vs. Murata winner.
Without two titles in his possession, Jermall might wind up being ignored by the winner of the Golovkin-Murata fight because there wouldn’t same pressure being put on them. Jermall needs two belts to use as a lure to get GGG or Murata.
Charlo targeting Canelo – Plant winner
“Yeah, hopefully, whoever is the winner [of Canelo vs. Plant], hopefully we can make a mega-deal. Like I said, I’m looking for a mega-deal and extend my legacy, and if one of those guys gives me the chance, I’m definitely taking it.
“This is part of boxing. Whatever happens, happens,” said Jermall when asked if he feels excited at the thought of fighting the winner of the Canelo vs. Plant fight.
“I actually became a boxing fan lately coming to a couple of fights and becoming a fan of younger fighters. Shakur [Stevenson] was really impressive, his fight with Jamel Herring, and, of course, the Wilder fight and the big-name fighters. Shakur was one of those fighters that made me tune back in.
“Move up to 168, have a fight and let them rest, and then have a fight at the first part of the year or something like that. I think, yeah, Canelo fighting me would show the world that with those kinds of competitive fights that have been around and linger for years. It can still happen.
“It’s probably one of those mega-fights, me and Canelo, and probably Houston and close to home.
“It would be major. Yeah, he [Plant] mentioned my name too. The game plan is, I’d definitely fight Caleb Plant. He’s a small 168-pounder.
“I’m 6’1″, and I’m taller than him. He’s not really 6’1”. I’m a bigger puncher, he’s not really a big puncher.
“We can make that fight happen too. Any one of these fighters that want to see Jermall Charlo fight, it’s in the near future,” said Jermall.
There’s a possibility Canelo may look in the direction of Jermall Charlo for his next fight should he defeat Plant on Saturday night.
Promoter Eddie Hearn mentioned the possibility of Canelo going up to 175 to challenge IBF/WBC champion Artur Beterbiev, but the more logical choice would be for Alvarez to stay at 168 and defend his four belts against Jermall next.
Charlo previews Canelo vs. Plant
“It’s going to be a fight, it’s going to be an interesting fight,” said Jermall Charlo about the Canelo vs. Plant fight this Saturday night. “We all know Canelo struggles with a little bit of movement off the jab. So, we’ll see what he do in this fight. We don’t know.
“He’s going to be looking to knock out Plant, who uses his head movement and lateral movement pretty good. I don’t call it running, but I do think he’ll [Plant] be on the bike a lot more with Canelo stalking him down and he doesn’t get caught with a shot he doesn’t see. Let the best man win.
“We don’t know how Canelo will adjust to the jab and the movement,” said Charlo. “He struggles with fighters with the Mayweather sort of style, and Plant shows a little bit of the Mayweather style with him boxing and moving with a little bit of flashy with his hands down.
“He’s not an upright fighter. He boxes off his back foot and he uses his head pretty good. So, we don’t know right now what kind of Canelo we’ll see,” Jermall said.
The movement and the Mayweather-like skills of IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) will give Canelo a lot to think about.
Charlo is right about this being a fight that Plant can win with his boxing skills, but the average fan isn’t seeing that. They only know that Canelo is a great fighter and has beaten most of the opposition he’s faced.
David Benavidez interests Jermall
“Of course, if it makes sense and it’s one of the major fights,” said Jermall when asked if he’d be interested in fighting David Benavidez. “It’s one of those fights that would get fans on their feet. I like the styles and that style of style.
“A young kid like that, he doesn’t know what he’s going to get himself into. He’s [Benavidez] a kid that lost his [WBC super middleweight]belt twice because of unprofessional things. I mean, he has nothing to offer besides running his mouth, so we know how that’ll go.
“Yeah, it’ll be an interesting fight when you’ve got enough fighters saying things, but talk is cheap. We can make it happen. A lot more millions are flowing in, so my whole world changed. I’m able to take care of my family, I learned that part, but I’m still having fun. I was a late bloomer.
“I’m still knocking everybody out every time they put somebody in front of me and my twin brother. We knock them out, we talk s***, and backed it up. It was fun then and it’s still fun now. The fire is still lit.
“I’m just now seasoned. I know what’s going on in the ring, and I know how to dictate 12 rounds. I’m not worried about things when I wasn’t fighting as much. Now, I’m a 12 round fighter naturally,” said Jermall Charlo.
Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs) needs to get his hands on a title because without one, he’ll have problems getting the big fights.
Charlo fighting Benavidez would be viewed by boxing fans as a championship-level fight, even without a title on the line. It’ll take a lot of courage on Jermall’s part to face the younger, bigger, and stronger 24-year-old Benavidez, so it’s a win-win for him should he take that fight.