By Allan Fox: Jermell Charlo is unlikely to return to the 154-lb division after facing Canelo Alvarez at 168 on September 30th, meaning that if Terence Crawford and/or Tim Tszyu wish to fight him, they’ll need to come out of their comfort zone & move up in weight to get the chance.
Crawford will need to change his stance about not moving beyond the 154-lb division if he wants a fight against Jermell because it’s doubtful he’ll ever return to the 154-lb division.
Jermell can’t do all the work for Crawford. If he wants that fight with Jermell, he must move to 168 and take the risk of being slower, weaker & vulnerable.
Crawford’s options if Jermell doesn’t return to 154:
– Errol Spence Jr – rematch
– Tim Tszyu
– Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis
– Brin Mendoza
– Erickson Lubin
– Sebastian Fundora
With Crawford fighting, making only one annual appearance in the ring, he’ll probably only hang around for another four fights before retiring at 4o.
Staying around longer would put Crawford at risk of being food for the young lions, which he might already be if he dares to fight ‘Boots’ Ennis.
If Crawford isn’t willing to do that, he can forget about Jermell and be satisfied with finishing his career at 154 against the obscure opposition in that weight class.
The opportunities for paydays are limited for Jermell beyond the Crawford & Tszyu fights, and he would be putting himself at a considerable disadvantage by coming back down.
Jermell has no reason to return to 154
As some boxing fans already know, Jermell has been draining himself to make 154, and it would be so much more difficult once he fights Canelo at 168.
There’s no point in Jermell putting his health at risk by returning to the junior middleweight division once he rips the four belts from Canelo.
We saw what happened with Roy Jones Jr when he went up in weight during his career and tried to return to his former division for a fight with Antonio Tarver.
Jermell doesn’t need to put his body through that ordeal of draining down because he’ll be the champion at 168. Why go backward to his old division?
Once Jermell (35-1-1, 19 KOs) becomes acclimatized to fighting Canelo at 168, it would be foolish to drain himself by returning to 154 to defend what’s left of his titles against Crawford & Tszyu.
Charlo will no longer be the undisputed champion at 154 once he enters the ring against Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) on September 30th, as the WBO will be stripping him of his belt with their organization and elevating interim champ Tszyu to the full champion.
That would leave Jermell with three belts at 154, which is fine, but there’s no incentive for him to return to the division and put his body through the kind of hell we recently saw with Errol Spence Jr.
If Jermell beats Canelo at 168, he’ll be the undisputed champion in the weight class, and there will be no reason for him to drain down to fight Crawford & Tszyu.
A victory over Canelo would almost surely set the table for a massive money rematch for Jermell in May 2024, which would likely see Charlo get a payday of well over $10 million. Beating Canelo a second time would transform Jermell into a superstar.
Jermell would be the A-side, the man with the belts, and he’s not going to stoop to the level of draining down to fight two less popular fighters in Crawford & Tszyu.
“You can’t f**k with me,” said Jermell Charlo to Terence Crawford after Bud’s win over Errol Spence Jr on July 29th. “I don’t give a f**k.”
“Nah, this ain’t my weight class. I’m fighting Canelo next. I don’t know what they’re talking about,” said Jermell when asked if he was in the same weight class as Crawford.
“I’m undisputed at 154. I already did that,” said Charlo.
