By Sean Jones: Jermell Charlo says he’s ready to make it a “little drama show” against Canelo Alvarez on September 30th so that he can impress the judges and “fascinate” to win a decision at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) looked uncomfortable today and not relaxed in Jermell’s presence as he had in his last three fights against John Ryder, Gennadiy Golovkin, and Dmitry Bivol.
The worry is definitely there with Canelo because he’s starting to suspect that it could be over for him soon, especially if he loses to Jermell.
It could be that Canelo realizes now that he might lose this fight, and if that happens, his career will be pretty much over without him being even more careful than he already is in selecting his opposition.
This is a cherry-pick for Canelo because he selected Charlo from the 154-lb division, but he may have made a mistake because Jermell has been boiling down all these years from 170+ lbs to fight at 154. For this fight, making weight won’t be nearly as bad.
Jermell to showcase his skills
“I get to showcase my skills against one of the best fighters in the world, and it’s exciting to see the support and love that I’m getting,” said Jermell Charlo today to the media at the kick-off press conference in New York.
Charlo needs to put his punches together and focus on throwing sustained three to seven-punch combinations against Canelo the way that Dmitry Bivol did in his victory over him.
Throwing only single punches like Gennadiy Golovkin in his three fights with Canelo is less effective because it allows him to get the better of the action with his counter shots.
Canelo shells up when his opponents throw combinations because he wants to try and pick anything off and not let anything get through.
He can block punches when it’s one at a time, but he struggles when his opponents throw combinations like Bivol was doing.
“I see some true fans supporting me, and I see some haters as well,” said Jermell. “My job is to get in there, be focused, and fight Canelo and win this mother f***er and enjoy this.
“It’s a magnitude. I’m not mad about the weight division. We both got to make 168. He can do it comfortably. I can do it comfortably. I can have more power, speed, and strength.
“Who says that when I was going down to 154 that I was losing power because of the fact that I was losing weight? Y’all are going to see when we get closer to the fight; I’m going to show up stronger.”
Jermell should be stronger moving up to 168, as he won’t need to drain down from the 170s to make 154. Will make Charlo stronger? It should.
“Y’all can watch videos that I’m putting out now. Y’all know my s**t is good. I got to kind of slow down of showing y’all too much because y’all might be showing him, but he’s watching. He sees it.
Jermell says knockout not essential
“Nah, I don’t got to get a knockout. I just got to win victoriously and fascinate. I’ve got to make it a little drama show for him a little bit and get that win. I’ve got to make sure I win impressively,” said Charlo.
A knockout may not be essential to beating Canelo, but it would surely help matters for Jermell. Lest he forgets, the T-Mobile is the same venue that Genndiy Golovkin was arguably royally robbed in his first two fights with Canelo.
It’s also the same place where Dmitry Bivol almost lost last year after schooling Canelo in a fight that looked like a 10-2 or 11-1 outcome. The three judges all scored 115-113 for Bivol. If that isn’t a reason for Jermell needing a knockout, I don’t know what is.
“I believe I can beat him, and that’s why we’re here today,” said Jermell.
