By Allan Fox: Tim Bradley states that Jermell Charlo will need to box better than at any point in his career for him to have a shot at beating undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 30.
Bradley says what Jermell (35-1-1, 19 KOs) has working against him winning this fight is his long layoff, lack of size, no experience at 168, and not having a good inside game.
The problems that Jermell showed in his two fights with Brian Castano will be amplified against Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) because he’s bigger, stronger, and more skilled than the Argentinian. Can Jermell keep Canelo from getting to him?
Bradley feels that Jermell will need to move all night against Canelo because he’s going to be getting hit hard each time he’s a stationary target.
With the bulk that Charlo is adding to his frame, this could negatively impact him. That weight could slow Jermello down, especially in the second half of the contest, making it easier for Canelo to get to him with his big rib-busting punches and his hooks & uppercuts to the head.
Bradley says he noted from watching how hard the bigger WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol had to work to keep Canelo off him, and he was forced to move in every round. If it was hard for a bigger, naturally more mobile fighter like Bivol to keep Canelo off, imagine what it’s going to be like for Jermell.
Jermell must box Canelo
“Canelo’s going to be at his very best because he definitely doesn’t want to lose to a super welterweight you. He’s going to be at his very best, but I think activity has a lot to do with this,” said Tim Bradley to Fighthype about Canelo Alvarez’s title defense against Jermell Charlo on September 30.
“I think activity has a lot to do with this as well. Timing, activity. There are a lot of things that are against Charlo going into this fight because he ain’t fought in a year and a half, either. He ain’t took a punch by a real puncher in a year and a half. [Brian] Castano was able to get to him a and a bit,” said Bradley.
There are massive things going against Jermell Charlo in this fight with Canelo, and it’s not just his inactivity. Going up in weight is going to be a shock for Jermell because he’s going to get hit harder than he never did before.
Should Jermell have taken a tune-up at 168 before fighting Canelo? It would have made all the sense in the world for Charlo to have at least gotten one fight under his belt at super middleweight before fighting Canelo.
Jermell Charlo isn’t going to be to count on scoring an early knockout of Canelo as he did against Erickson Lubin and Jeison Rosario.
“I was watching his [Jermell] fight with Castano this morning, and I was like, Man, because Castano got a looping right, and he got touched with that thing. I’m like, Canelo got a looping right hand,” said Bradley.
“Canelo got a looping left hook. You know, one of the nastiest left hooks in boxing. Canelo can throw down to the body as well and set him up. Canelo puts the pressure on, and Castano was having a lot of success.”
To keep Canelo from landing his looping hooks, Jermell will need to stay in constant motion, circling him in the ring and not being still for even an instant.
When has Jermell ever boxed for an entire fight in his career? Never. Jermell has been a puncher like his brother Jermall, and he’s found success because his opposition has been poor.
Castano was having a lot of success in that first fight being able to cut off the ring and was able to corner Charlo and work, and some people thought he might have won that first one.
“But I just find it hard for a smaller guy [Jermell] to beat a bigger guy [Canelo] that is still on, I would say, on the tail end of his career,” said Bradley. “It’s like it’s almost like saying that I used to tell people all the time that like Manny Pacquiao. Even though he’s older, he’s a legend in the sport.
“His abilities and what he’s able to do inside the ring with his experience. His C game is better than a lot of guy’s A games. So I feel the same thing here. I feel that Canelo’s C game is better than Charlo, who is a smaller guy going into the fight.
Ring rust could be problem
“If Charlo is going to win this fight, I’ll just tell you this, he’s going to have the box better than he’s ever had in his entire career coming off of a year and a half layoff, and he’s going to have to absorb whatever punches that lands on him from Canelo,” said Bradley.
“Canelo is a big puncher, and he’s a guy that’s moving up two-way divisions to face a legend in Canelo Alvarez. So he’s going to have to box and keep his distance and use his reach and don’t stand there and look for a fight with Canelo. He has to do it all night long. Can he do it? That’s another thing.
“When I watch film, I look at where guys are uncomfortable. Charlo is uncomfortable on the inside, believe it or not. He’d rather keep his distance on the outside so that way he can extend with his punches the right way with this jab and dictate the pace.
“When you start getting close to him, he’ll unleash some combinations, but then he’ll get himself out of position where I feel that Canelo is going to be looking to capitalize on more times than none,” said Bradley.
Canelo will bring crazy pressure
“Canelo, you know what he’s going to do. He’s going to bring the pressure,” said Bradley. “It’s crazy with Canelo. He’s kind of transformed into. He used to be a guy that come forward, aggressive style, throw many combinations, use his hand speed as well as quickness to get out of the way and counter you. But he’s kind of transitioned over the years now into more of a trap setter, fighting these bigger guys and aging.
“So he’s using this [brains] more than actually this [power]. That works for him, and it also can work against him. It worked against him when he fought against Bivol.
Bivol is a younger, active, light heavyweight that knows how to control distance well and knows how to use it to maintain his distance. It still was a good fight from Canelo, from my standpoint. Canelo never gave up. He kept coming, trying to land. That’s the type of fight; if Charlo is going to win the fight, think about that. How hard that Bivol had to fight.
Think about that. How hard he had to fight to keep Canelo up off of him, and he’s a bigger man. Do you know how hard that Charlo is going to have to fight to keep freaking Canelo off of him?
“Exactly where on top of that where, like can, can Charlo absorb all those bombs? Because Canelo, he’s punching with bad intentions with every single punch now. That’s his style. Off the high guard, marching forward, slip counter hard. Everything is hard,” said Bradley.
