By Jim Calfa: Trainer Derrick James wants Jermell Charlo to come into his fight with four-belt super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez light at 163 or 164 so that he avoids being sluggish & slow from having put on too much weight.
Charlo, 33, is an explosive puncher, and by staying at 164, he’ll retain his stamina without gassing out. Jermell must be well-conditioned because his best chance of winning is to force Canelo to work hard for three minutes of every round to exhaust him.
Jermell (35-1-1, 19 KOs) is moving up two weight classes from the 154-lb division, so he’s got to come in a little heavier than usual.
James doesn’t want Charlo to make the mistake other fighters have when moving up to a higher division by bulking up too much, which would take away his main asset, speed.
Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) will have the size & experience advantage fighting Jermell at 168, but he might not be the harder puncher. Jermell punches like a super middleweight, but he has to load up on his shots to do that.
Canelo can punch hard more effortlessly, but he can’t throw a lot of shots because of his poor cardio. Jermell could exceed Canelo’s work rate quite easily,
Jermell must win rounds decisively against Canelo
“I don’t believe in getting that heavy. I’ll say 63 or 64,” said Derrick James to Fight Hub TV about wanting his fighter Jermell Charlo to come in lighter for his fight with undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 30th.
“I want him to be fast, I want him to be athletic, I want him to be mobile. The heavier you are, it’s like you’ll be lethargic, slower. You have to be faster,” said James about Charlo.
What Derrick is overlooking for this fight is the judges. The contest will likely take place in Las Vegas, Canelo’s favorite fighting city and some fans believe the judges will have consistently given him favorable scoring in close – and not so close – rounds when fighting in that town.
If Jermell wants to win, he’s going to need to put it on Canelo in every round, battering him with punches and making it clear who the better man is. He’s not going to beat a superstar like Canelo by using a hit & run approach, as we’ve seen that approach fail repeatedly.
If Jermell stays on the move, jabbing & not letting Canelo land, he’ll lose the fight just like Erislandy Lara, Gennadiy Golovkin, and Austin Trout did when they tried boxing the Mexican superstar.
Canelo = A-side
You don’t beat Canelo by outboxing him because the odds of winning a decision are slim. Even Dmitry Bivol, who dominated Canelo last year, barely edged him by a set of 115-113 scores in Las Vegas.
Canelo is the A-side in this fight, and that means a heck of a lot when it comes to the scoring by the judges. As long as Jermell & his trainer Derrick James know what they’re up against, they can plan accordingly by focusing on high-output punching.
Jermell might need to average 80 punches per round for him to beat Canelo because that would make it clear to the judges who the better fighter is on September 30th.
What’s working against Jermell winning this fight is he only fights in spurts because he likes to set traps, and he won’t do enough to make the rounds conclusive.
If Canelo & Jermell are throwing the same number of shots each round, the judges are obviously going to score the rounds for the Mexican star.
He’s the A-side that brings money to Las Vegas with fans coming to see his fights. Jermell fights in Texas, so he brings nothing to the table in this fight in terms of favorable scoring.
