By Robert Segal: Mike Tyson recently put Jermall Charlo’s feet to the fire on his podcast, asking him repeatedly why he WON’T fight David Benavidez. Tyson looked exasperated in trying to understand why Jermall chose not to fight Benavidez.
When Tyson asked Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) why he’s not calling out the ‘Mexican Monster’ Benavidez, he gave this weak answer: “His value is low; he’s not worth as much.” Charlo said that he would prefer to fight Canelo Alvarez over Benavidez.
That excuse doesn’t hold water for Jermall, particularly when looking at the subpar, cannon fodder opposition he’s been facing. Charlo has been taking safe fights against sub-level opponents that weren’t a threat to beating him.
In a textbook example of Jermall fighting obscure, weak opposition, he’ll be defending his WBC middleweight title next month against Maciej Sulecki on June 18th on Showtime at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Jermall’s recent opponents:
- Juan Macias Montiel
- Sergiy Derevyanchenko
- Dennis Hogan
- Brandon Adams
- Matt Korobov
- Hugo Centeno Jr
- Jorge Sebastian Heiland
Sulecki is a fighter that Daniel Jacobs and Demetrius Andrade recently beat. Given those defeats, why is Jermall wasting his time by choosing to fight Sulecki? I think the answer is obvious.
Even ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson was able to pressure Jermall into calling out Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs), but he still wouldn’t mention him by name.
A disgusted-looking Tyson then told Jermell, “Name the names,” letting him know he needed to call out Benavidez by name rather than weakly saying, “What’s up? Who want it?” That was the weakest call out this writer has ever seen.
Mike Tyson: “Everybody is scared of this guy and that you don’t want to fight,” said Mike Tyson on his Hot Boxin channel, asking Jermall Charlo why he won’t fight David Benavidez.
Jermall Charlo: “I just think his value is low; he’s not worth as much. I’d rather fight Canelo,” said Jermall Charlo when asked by Mike Tyson why he isn’t trying to fight David Benavidez.
Tyson: “Oh, God damn!”
Jermall: “We’re the Charlo twins; we’re known for calling everybody out. We called Canelo out for five or six years already.”
Tyson: “Then fight the next best guy, the ‘Mexican monster.'”
Jermall: “He [Benavidez] ain’t no Mexican monster; he’s got nothing to offer.”
Tyson: “Everyone is scared of him. Nobody is fighting him. Please call these people out; the whole world is looking at you.”
Jermall: “What’s up? This is Jermall Charlo; let’s get it. Who want it?”
Tyson: “Name them names, man! The names need to be named.”
Jermall: “They know who they are.”
Although Jermall said he’s going to fight Benavidez next year, that’s hard to believe. Why, all of a sudden, will Jermall fight Benavidez next year when he hasn’t been fighting all these other years, including 2022?
What other essential fights does Jermall have on his schedule for this year after his gimme against Sulecki on June 18th? Will this be Jermall’s only fight of the year?
