Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermall Charlo = 50-50 fight says Jaron Ennis

By Boxing News - 01/23/2022 - Comments

By Sean Jones: Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis says he views the rumored May 7th fight between Canelo Alvarez and Jermall Charlo as a “50-50” match, and he feels it’ll be a “tough” one for both guys.

Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) badly needs a quality opponent for his next fight on the Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend on May 7th, and the unbeaten Jermall (32-0, 22 KOs) fits the bill perfectly.

For the first time in four years, Canelo will be facing a fighter that the boxing public wants to see him fighting. Canelo has been cramming mismatches down the throats of his fans for the last four years, turning away many of them for good.

Since 2018 after getting arguably beaten by Gennady Golovkin in their rematch, Canelo has given up fighting elite-level opposition and has burned through the last four years fighting British guys, older fighters on their last legs, and his old sparring partner.

The cannon fodder that Canelo has beaten during the last four years has been the equivalent of watching paint dry on a fence. Boring mismatches with the outcomes already painfully obvious ahead of time.

If Canelo takes the fight with Jermall on May 7th, he’ll finally be facing someone with a real chance of beating him, as long as the judging is high-caliber.

It would be a good idea for Canelo to stage the fight with Jermall in a neutral state. The last thing we want is another controversial decision in Las Vegas along the same lines as we saw with Canelo’s fight against Golovkin and Erislandy Lara.

Canelo vs. Jermall = 50-50 fight

“I like that fight; that’s a good fight,” said Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to Fighthype on Canelo vs. Jermall Charlo. “I want to see it. I’m not sure. I think that’ll be a tough fight for both guys.  I think that’s a 50-50 fight.

Image: Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermall Charlo = 50-50 fight says Jaron Ennis

“Charlo is kind of big.  You got to remember, Canelo came up in weight too. It’s kind of even,”  said Ennis.

Sean Jones doesn’t see Canelo vs. Jermall Charlo as a 50-50 fight. This is more of a 60-40 in favor of Jermall, as long we don’t see any Micky Mouse scoring as we did in Alvarez’s fights with GGG and Lara.

Charlo’s best wins:

  • Sergiy Derevyanchenko
  • Julian ‘J-Rock’ Williams
  • Austin Trout
  • Juan Macias Montiel
  • Cornelius Bundrage
  • Matt Korobov

Jermall is an incredible talent with size, power, speed, and boxing ability that Canelo hasn’t seen in eons. That’s why Sean Jones has his doubts that Canelo will go ahead with a fight with Jermall because he’s too good.

The way Charlo dominated Sergiy Derevyanchenko in 2020, he would make easy work of Canelo and likely beat him by a one-sided 22 round decision.

“What does the future hold for the undisputed super middleweight, a fight at 168 pounds, a run at light heavyweight, or a fight-cementing legacy?” said Chris Mannix on the DAZN Boxing Show on what next for Canelo Alvarez.

“We’ll start at the division that took Canelo only eleven months to rule at super middleweight. You’ve heard the rumors of Jermall Charlo, Demetrius Andrade, GGG moving up to get the trilogy. Fight fans desperately still want to see that trilogy. David Benavidez is out there as well.”

I’m thinking [Jermall] Charlo right now,” said AK when asked who Canelo will likely fight next. “All these fights are great, and at this point in Canelo’s career, it doesn’t matter who he fights. People are going to attack him.

“If he goes up to light heavyweight, they’re going to say those guys aren’t really that skilled. If he goes up cruiserweight, that guy [Ilunga Makabu], he’s not a good fighter.

“The reason why I like [Jermall] Charlo fight is that I know his resume isn’t super deep, but the guy does have a couple of good names on his resume. He beat Austin Trout, who’d only lost to Erislandy Lara. Charlo beat [Sergiy] Derevyanchenko, and Derevyanchenko’s body type is similar to Canelo’s.

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“I’m not comparing him [Jermall] to Canelo’s skills, but he’s got fast hands, a similar stance moving forward, and he obviously looked good against Derevyanchenko. He does have a name. People are intrigued about the Charlo match-up.

“Even those Charlo isn’t a super middleweight; he’s a champion at middleweight. The most intriguing matchup for me is Jermall Charlo,’ said AK.

GGG option for Canelo

It’s implausible that Canelo and his trainer/manager Eddy Reynoso will choose to fight Gennadiy Golovkin next on May 7th, even though the fight would make them massive money.

Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) has proven too challenging for Canelo, with many boxing fans believing he was robbed twice against the Mexican star in their two Las Vegas fights at the T-Mobile Arena.

Image: Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermall Charlo = 50-50 fight says Jaron Ennis

Canelo & Reynoso won’t pick Golovkin again because it would involve too much pain to face him a third time. It would be like Canelo willingly agreeing to put his hand on a burning hot oven plate and holding it there for a minute.

He’s not going to do it, so it’s not even an option to consider Golovkin for a third fight. It’s too bad, though, because Canelo’s precious legacy will forever be tarnished due to his two controversial fights with Golovkin.

All that time that Canelo has wasted winning division titles against paper champions means nothing because his resume is already stained permanently because of his two fights with Golovkin and his controversial wins over Erislandy Lara and Austin Trout.

Those fights reminded this writer of watching a professional wrestling match where you knew who the winner would be ahead of time regardless of what happened.

“You heard about GGG still being the biggest fight [for Canelo], and it probably still is,” said Mannix. “Looking at GGG now as he approaches 40-years-old, why should Canelo take a Golovkin fight now?”

“People want to see the trilogy [Canelo vs. Golovkin] because there’s unfinished business there,” said Sergio Mora. “If you look at the great trilogy’s of all time with, of course, Ali-Frazier, that wasn’t needed. It ended in a knockout.

“Look at the Fight of the Year last year between Fury and Wilder, that wasn’t needed, and that was Fight of The Year. This is that type of fight you mentioned it. Golovkin is going to be pushing 40.

“The first two fights were razor-thin, but a lot of people have the type of memory where they forget real quick. The young guns come in, and they look at the Charlos, Beterbievs, Joe Smith, and Benavidez. They want the young guys.

“I still want the GGG fight because there’s unfinished business there. I need closure. I watched both of these guys in these fights, and they were razor-thin. I need that closure.

“I know how the fights are going to end, and I know how the majority of the people are going to know how it ends, but I still need to see it. I still need to see that knockout,” Mora said in hinting that he believes Canelo will win the trilogy with GGG.

Reynosos dismissive of David Benavidez

“The only true super middleweight in that bunch is David Benavidez, who has been a two-time champion at 168 pounds,” said Mannix.

“When Eddy Reynoso, the trainer, and manager of Canelo, talks about Benavidez, he’s pretty dismissive. He shrugs his shoulders and says, ‘He hasn’t really done anything to earn that type of fight. What does Benavidez have to do?”

Interestingly, Canelo’s trainer/manager Eddy Reynoso was quick to dismiss former two-time WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs) as a potential opponent.

It’s strange because Canelo has faced opposition that has done considerably less than him during their careers.

Look at Canelo’s opposition since 2018:

  • Avni Yildirim
  • Billy Joe Saunders
  • Caleb Plant
  • Danny Jacobs
  • Callum Smith
  • Rocky Fielding

Yildirim was Canelo’s sparring partner and hadn’t fought in two years since his loss to Anthony Dirrell when he was selected by the Mexican star for a fight last year. What did Yildirim do to deserve a fight against Canelo, aside from his ex-sparring partner?

Jacobs’ claim to fame is beating Sergiy Derevyanchenko by a questionable decision, a fighter that Benavidez would likely destroy. When Jacobs tried stepping up, he was beaten by Gennady Golovkin, Canelo, and Dmitry Bivol. Other than that, Jacobs’ best win on his resume is over Sergio Mora.