Trainer Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis thinks Jermall Charlo should have taken a warm-up fight before facing fringe 154-pound contender Jose Benavidez Jr.
Unfortunately, Jermall (32-0, 22 KOs) could ill afford to take an additional tune-up before facing the 31-year-old Benavidez Jr. (28-2-1, 19 KOs), which would be a second warm-up level match before moving on to the bigger fights against potentially Canelo Alvarez, David Benavidez, Demetrius Andrade or Carlos Adames.
If Jermall can’t beat the likes of Benavidez Jr. in his first fight back, that would be troubling, as that guy is just an average Joe.
The faded, smallish Danny Garcia recently beat Benavidez Jr and should have had a loss against non-contender Franciso Torres. That was a gift ten round draw that Benavidez Jr. was given three fights ago in 2021.
We’re talking about a lower-level fighter in Jose Benavidez Jr and one that is way too small and weak to last long against even a rusty version of Jermall Charlo.
Jermall can’t take two tune-up fights after being out of the ring for 2 1/2 years because he would have to surrender his WBC middleweight belt, which he doesn’t appear interested in doing unless he can get a big payday against Canelo or the Benavidez vs. Andrade winner.
Jermall should have taken a warm-up
“He’s been out for a while too. What has he been out, two years?” said Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis to MillCity Boxing about Jermall Charlo returning to the ring tonight after a 2.5-year-old layoff to fight Jose Benavidez Jr. on Showtime PPV.
“He got a heart, that Jose Benavidez. That should be a good fight. We just got to see where Charlo is at. After two years layoff, that’s a difficult task. Coming back after two years,” said Bozy.
It’s true, Benavidez Jr. has got heart, but not world class talent, and he’s lacking in the power and size department. Terence Crawford toyed with Benavidez Jr. for eleven rounds, punishing him before turning up the heat in the twelfth round to score a knockout in 2018.
When Benavidez Jr. fought at 140, he was a decent bottom-level contender before he was shot in the leg in 2016 while walking his dog in Phoenix, Arizona. Since then, his best win has come against journeyman Frank Rojas (25-9). That’s not very good, is it?
Bozy probably isn’t aware of Benavidez Jr’s lack of accomplishments during his career, especially after being shot.
“He [Jermall] should have took somebody else before he took him. I would have got a warm-up before I took a guy like him,” said Bozy about his view that Charlo should have taken an easy mark before fighting Benavidez Jr. in what would be a second tune-up.
“I would have gotten a little warm-up fight before I got back into the flow. With the way Charlo is talking, I think he thinks that is a warm-up right there for him. Or the one that fought J-Rock because J-Rock was doing good at the beginning until he got caught,” said Bozy about the version of Jermall that knocked out Julian Williams in the fifth round in 2016.
“I would probably lean towards Charlo, though, even though he’s been out for a while. Just his punching power. Once he touches you, that’s it. Yeah, he can box,” said Bozy.
Andrade must frustrate Benavidez
“When David Benavidez puts that pressure on you and lets his hands go, he throws a lot of punches. Then you got Boo Boo. He’s got an awkward style. He throws punches from everywhere, so that’s another difficult fight to call.
“But that Benavidez, that pressure, it’s coming. You got to have something to keep him off you, and you got to box him. Sometimes, you got to sit down and show him that you’re there. If you got to trade with him, trade with him in between the punches,” said Bozy.
Demetrius Andrade won’t win if he doesn’t stand and fight David Benavidez in this fight because he’s facing a popular fighter, who the Nevada judges will likely be giving rounds even if they’re even slightly close.
He’s a hyped fighter, young and he could be the replacement for Canelo Alvarez when he retires, but he’ll likely be at light heavyweight or cruiserweight by the time the Mexican star hangs up his gloves.
Andrade has got the power & the slick skills to give Benavidez problems, but unless he can put him on the canvas a couple of times or, better yet, knock him out, it’s logical to assume he’ll lose.
Benavidez obviously isn’t as good as the hype about him, as his resume is lacking in big names, and he recently had the chance to change that by accepting the challenge from WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell, who is even younger than him at 25, but he opted for the 35-year-old Andrade.
“There is going to come a time when you’re going to have to do that. He’s going to have to fight him,” said Bozy. “Guys like that, you got to take away what they do best, just like we did with [Roiman] Villa.
“His best attribute was walking you down and letting his hands go and fighting you and trying to get you to fight inside with him. We took that away from him. So that’s what Boo Boo is going to have to do with David. Try to take it away from him.”
What makes it more difficult for Andrade to duplicate what Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis did in his fight with Roiman Villa is that Benavidez rehydrates to cruiserweight, and he’s much, much bigger than him.
To get the better of a fighter that huge, Andrade might have to attack his body because landing headshots probably won’t work. Talking all that weight off, 20+ lbs of water, and then shifting it back on overnight has got to be difficult for Benavidez.
That’s an ordeal for any person to undertake, and you can only do it so many times before it takes a toll on your body. Will Benavidez come down to earth tonight and be too drained to fight like he used to? It’s possible.
“Let him know, ‘I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. We going to fight.’ The same way our plan was fighting,” said Bozy when asked how Andrade can take away Benavidez’s fighting style.
“If I was training him, I would have him boxing him, and once you start boxing him, don’t let him get off and tie him up a little bit. Frustrate him and keep doing the same thing over and over. That’s what I would do. Have him box, box,” said Bozy.
Boxing is probably the best thing Andrade can do against a fighter the size of Benavidez because he’s too big to stand in front of unless he’s weight drained.
