By Dan Ambrose: Roy Jones Jr. thinks Jermell Charlo is taking a considerable risk by jumping up two weight classes to fight Canelo Alvarez at 168 for his undisputed super middleweight championship on September 30th.
Roy Jr. feels that the 14 lbs that Jermell (35-1-1, 19 KOs) will be moving up could negatively impact his performance, with him facing a heavier fighter that he’s not used to, and he could be slowed down as well.
Jones sees it as a risky thing for Jermell to be doing, but it’s one that will be worth it for him due to the massive payday he’ll get for fighting the superstar Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs).
During his career, Jones went from 175 to 200 to defeat WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz in 2003. Although Jones made the jump in weight successfully, his career went downhill when he returned to 175.
Everyone is different, obviously, so Charlo may defeat Canelo, return to the 154-lb division and continue to enjoy the success he had before. It would be smarter for Jermell to stay at 168 if he beats Canelo.
If Jermell stays, he can fight Canelo in a rematch and all the other top guys. Whatever fan interest there was for a Jermell vs. Tim Tszyu fight will evaporate once Terrence Crawford beats the Aussie while Charlo is busy with his rematch with Canelo.
Jermell will have problems
“It’s strange for Jermell because this is his first time going that high, and he’s doing it for two weight classes,” said Roy Jones Jr to Fight Hub TV about Jermell Charlo moving up from 154 to 168 to challenge Canelo Alvarez for his undisputed super middleweight championship on September 30th.
“To jump on weight class is good, but to jump two, it’s a little bit difficult. It’s more of a significant amount of weight. You don’t know how your body is going to react to that. That’s why guys usually go up a couple of pounds; add a couple of more pounds to see how their bodies are going to react,” said Roy.
Charlo didn’t have a choice. If he’d told Canelo, ‘Give me a year to get acclimated to the 168-lb weight,’ he wouldn’t have gotten the chance to face him.
What Roy is conveniently leaving out is how Canelo has been struggling with his stamina since his fight with Dmitry Bivol last year. If that continues to be the case, Canelo will gas out early against Jermell and be at his mercy.
“You’re going to take that 14 lb jump, and you’re going to see what happens,” said Jones Jr. “That’s dangerous because you don’t know how your body is going to react to 14 lbs more. Can you carry that for twelve rounds? Can you take a punch like that for twelve rounds?”
Roy’s punch resistance disappeared after he fought John Ruiz at heavyweight in 2003, and he was never the same again. He wound up suffering five knockout losses in the remainder of his career. That doesn’t have to happen to Jermell.
“There are a lot of questions to be answered, and you didn’t start with a six lb jump,” said Jones Jr. “You went all the way to a 14 lb jump. Now, if you’re a special guy, and he may be, then maybe he can do that with no problem,” said Jones Jr.
Canelo moved up slowly
“When you think about it, Canelo did it the same way, but Canelo did it a little bit at a time. He went from a six lb jump; then he went to an eight lb jump, and then when he went a little higher when he got to 175 lbs, it didn’t work out too well for him,” said Jones Jr.
Canelo had the luxury of moving up slowly because he was already a big star, and there was no one at 160 or 168 more popular than him. Jermell is in a different boat. He can’t afford to take his time in moving up.
“So, at what point does the weight start to affect you? If you don’t know. You definitely don’t know if you just jump up and see. So that’s kind of suspicious but a gutty thing he’s doing.
“He [Canelo] didn’t look good against John Ryder because he knew what John Ryder was like. We knew what John Ryder was. He knows what Charlo is like. We know what Charlo is,” said Jones Jr.
