Jermall Charlo says he’d like to be the one that is facing Canelo Alvarez next May on Cinco De Mayo holiday if he looks good and comes out victorious this Saturday night in his ten round fight against the capable Jose Benavidez Jr. on Showtime PPV.
Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) reminded the media that he was the one that he he was the one that was supposed to fight undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo last September, but he wasn’t mentally ready at the time to take the fight.
As a result, he let his brother Jermell take it, and he did perform well, unfortunately, but Jermall is still hoping to face Canelo, and perhaps he can even the score for the Charlo family with a victory.
Before a potential fight with Canelo can happen, Jermall (32-0, 22 KOs) must get past Benavidez Jr (28-2-1, 19 KOs) on Saturday night in their co-feature bout on the David Benavidez vs. Demetrius Andrade card on Showtime PPV.
The 31-year-old Benavidez Jr., who has never won a world title or beaten a top-tier fighter during his long 13-year professional career, seemed like he had a major chip on his shoulder with the way he got up twice during today’s final press conference, acting like he wanted to fight Jermall on stage.
The security had to intervene both times to keep Benavidez Jr. from getting to Jermall, who was cool & calm, laughing & telling him that he was making himself “look stupid.”
Jermall open to Canelo fight in May
“I’m down to fight either one of them win, lose, or draw,” said Jermall Charlo to the media about his interest in fighting the winner of the David Benavidez vs. Demetrius Andrade fight.
“I’m down to fight Caleb Plant. I’m down to fight Canelo too. At 168, the door is still wide open for me. I was originally going to fight Canelo. I got the offer, I got the call, but it was something that my brother had talked about,” said Jermall.
If Jermall can’t get the Canelo fight, facing the winner or loser of the Benavidez vs. Andrade contest would be an excellent idea, as that would be a massive bout for the first quarter of 2024.
Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) is obviously counting on being blessed by Canelo for a mega-fight next May, but if that doesn’t happen, facing Jermall would be the next best thing unless another big-name like Terence Crawford or Dmitry Bivol shows interest in facing him. Benavidez doesn’t want to fight WBA regular super middleweight champion David Morrell yet, so he’s not an option.
“At that time, I wasn’t mentally ready or prepared to even make my transition back into boxing,” said Jermall. “So why not let my brother seize the moment, and that’s exactly what he did,” said Jermall about how Jermell got the fight with Canelo.
“I haven’t been told anything otherwise besides that. I hope we get him [Canelo] on Cinco de Mayo. I look good in this fight [against Jose Benavidez Jr], and you guys press the action. The media and you guys vouch for me to fight that fight [against Canelo].
“I don’t know what’s going on. Maybe they have a lot to prove to each other,” said Charlo about Jose Benavidez Jr. and his brother David Benavidez. “My fight could be the main event. I stepped on the card to give the card even more power.
“I get a chance to fight his brother because little big brother is the main event. I don’t know what they [David & Jose Jr. Benavidez] got going on, but hats off to them. I fought on my card with my brother. It’s not that easy. If I knock his brother out cold before he gets in the ring, he’ll be thinking about that, too. So everybody will get a chance to see how I felt.
Charlo happy to be back
“I’m super excited, super ready. I miss boxing. I miss you guys. I miss the fights, and I miss everything about it. Hopefully, you guys get the chance to see the fourth quarter, the clutch, the real Jermall Charlo. I apologize for my absence,” said Jermall.
Many fans are glad that Jermall is back because he was heading for superstardom before his absence two years ago and had a lot of great fights in front of him at the time.
“I’ve been training since I was gone. I’ve been training, but when you call a camp, a camp really formed and became a camp; it was like a couple of weeks,” said Jermall. “I don’t need a whole bunch. What more can I learn besides sharpening up?”
It sounds like Jermall’s training camp consisted of just two or three weeks for his fight with Benavidez Jr. this Saturday, which lets you know how confident he is of victory. If Jermall can come out and destroy Benavidez Jr. after a mere two to three-week camp, it shows his talent.
“For this fight, I’m okay with being a little rough around the edges,” said Charlo about his bout with Jose Jr. “It’s my first fight back in two years. I’m okay with being rough around the edges. So, I work on those things, and that gives me something to work for.
“I’m pretty sure he’s in great shape,” said Charlo about Benavidez Jr. “He got a chance to spar his brother [David]. They look like they’re doing great in the gym. I’m not really focused on what he does. I know what I’m capable of doing.”
The 31-year-old Benavidez Jr. looks like he’s been training like a dog, as he should because this is arguably the biggest fight of his career. When Jose Jr. fought Terence Crawford in 2018, there was nowhere near the buzz back then as there is for this fight.
Crawford wasn’t as popular five years ago as he is now; fans weren’t as excited about that fight as they are with Saturday’s Charlo-Benavidez Jr. contest.
“So, I’m going to get in there and try to be the best Charlo I can be. The fastest I can be. Throw the punches as fast as I can throw them, make the moves at the right time. I just want to be on my P’s & Q’s this time,” said Jermall.
“You’ll still get the full 100% Charlo, promise,” said Jermall.
