By Craig Daly: Jermell Charlo says he’ll most likely not fight Terence Crawford at 168 next year because it’s difficult for him to make that weight class.
This means that if Jermell beats undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 30th, he could vacate the belts unless there’s an immediate rematch.
Crawford has made it known that he wants to fight for the undisputed championship at 168, so he’s not going to be happy to see Jermell vacate the four belts if he’s victorious over Canelo.
Terence wants to fight for all four 168-lb belts at once rather than going after them one by one and having to face big super middleweights like David Benavidez, David Morrell Jr., Caleb Plant & Demetrius Andrade.
It’s still too early to know what Jermell will do because he could change his mind and stay at 168 if he beats Canelo in consecutive fights. The money would be better for Jermell if he stays at 168, given that he can fight Benavidez & Plant.
Things will be easier if Jermell (35-1-1, 19 KOs) loses to Canelo. Jermell says he would go to 154 to defend his three remaining titless after his WBO is stripped from him.
Charlo wants to hold onto his titles at 154, even though it’s going to be more difficult for him to make weight.
“He’s just filling himself right now, and he’s a top dog; he’s moving up in weight, and everyone wants to fight the best,” said Jermell Charlo to Fight Hub TV about Terence Crawford.
“I really don’t know that just yet. 168 is still not my weight division because it’s not as easy to make 168,” said Jermell when asked if he would stay at super middleweight to defend against Crawford or move back down to 154.
“I have to gain weight, and when I’m working really hard, it’s really tough [to make 168]. I can easily walk around at 168. I’m definitely not the naturally bigger fighter. 168 is not my weight division. I think I would have to see him [Crawford] at a different weight category.
“I could possibly be facing Terence Crawford. I could possibly be back at 154, though,” said Jermell when asked what 2024 looks like for him. “I can easily make 154. It’s not hard. It’s not that it’s not hard. It’s probably going to be harder after this fight [Canelo Alvarez].
“2024, I should be at some type of weight defending my world titles. So, I still have the titles that I have at 154. I can’t just hold them. I have to defend them, or they’ll strip me. Just fighting the best,” said Charlo.
