Jermall Charlo is rumored to be the next opponent for Canelo Alvarez to defend his undisputed super middleweight championship in his debut on Amazon Prime Video PPV on May 4th.
Although the Mexican star Canelo recently easily beat the smaller Charlo, Jermell by a lopsided twelve-round unanimous decision last September, Jermall is a different story. He’s bigger, stronger, fearless, and more rugged than his twin.
Canelo Needs a Star
Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) needs a well-known opponent to the U.S. audience to bring in the PPV buys on Amazon Prime, and Jermall is the ideal guy to serve that purpose. The boxing public will be interested in this fight because Jermall has the power and size to beat Canelo.
Jermall is a fighter that many feel that Canelo avoided for years when he fought at 160 and took the Franchise tag to swerve him when he was his mandatory.
Charlo: The Ideal Challenger?
The unbeaten WBC middleweight champion Charlo (33-0, 22 KOs), considered the better of the twins, looked impressive last November, coming off a long two-year layoff to defeat Jose Benavidez Jr. by a wide ten-round unanimous decision in Las Vegas.
If Charlo gets the fight, he’ll be moving up from 160 to face Canelo for his four belts at 168. Unlike Jermall’s thinner, weaker brother, Jermell, he has the size and power to compete with Canelo.
We likely won’t see Jermall running or playing it safe like Jermell did last September in that disappointing fight. Jermall will be ready to fight tooth & nail against Canelo and go out on his shield if necessary.
WBC interim super middleweight champion David Benavidez is the guy that most fans want to see Canelo fight, but that match-up is rumored to be happening in September. Of course, Canelo may choose to take an opponent closer to his size.
Benavidez is arguably a light heavyweight or cruiserweight-sized guy, who many feel is killing himself to make 168, hoping to get the Canelo payday before moving up where he belongs at 175 or 200.
‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez should first fight David Morrell to prove himself before fighting Canelo. The Canelo-Benavidez fight would be much bigger if Benavidez at least had one solid win on his resume, as it’s barren of quality names.
