By Sean Jones: A bulked-up Jermell Charlo showed up today for his kick-off press conference for his fight next month against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 30th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
For the media & boxing fans that have been saying that Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) will be too big for Jermell (35-1-1, 19 KOs), they might have second thoughts after seeing the size that Charlo has put on for this fight. He looks bigger than Canelo, and is ready to use his new physique to do damage to the Mexican star.
Canelo & his eagle-eyed trainer/manager Eddy Reynoso might have thought they were getting the smaller Charlo when they hand-picked Jermell from the 154-lb weight class, but they need to think again because he now looks every bit as large as his twin brother Jermall.
With the added size that Jermell has put on, he’s likely punching harder than ever, and he’s got a ‘take no prisoners’ look to him like he’s not going to take it easy on the incredibly wealthy Mexican superstar Canelo in their main event fight on Showtime PPV. Jermell will be showing no mercy.
A win for Jermell on September 30th will likely lead to a rematch, but it’s not a given. Canelo chose not to avenge his loss to Dmitry Bivol, and he could do the same thing if he gets soundly beaten by Jermell in a similar fashion.
Jermell will use his size to box Canelo from the outside all night and then pour it on in the second half when Alvarez gasses out like normally does. Canelo has been training at altitude in the hills to improve his stamina, but it remains to be seen whether that will help him from fading against Jermell.
“I think Canelo is too big for him. He’s going to win in maybe a late-round stoppage, and then he comes back. He’s still undisputed [at 154], and then wait for Crawford,” said trainer Robert Garcia to Fight Hub TV, picking Canelo Alvarez to defeat Jermell Charlo on February 30th.
“In the last couple of fights that Canelo has had, he’s looked a lot slower now. His defense is not what it was when we’ve seen him a few fights ago. It’s just different now.
“It’s not just one bad performance [from Canelo]. His last couple of fights have been the same way. So that could favor Charlo. Anything can happen. I wouldn’t be surprised if Charlo outboxes him and outpoints him, and wins a decision. It might happen,” said Garcia.
