Jermall Charlo is back in training, working out with his coach Ronnie Shields, looking surprisingly good for someone that has been out of the ring for the last two solid years.
It makes sense for Jermall (32-0, 22 KOs), WBC middleweight champion, to ramp up his training because he needs to show that he’s physically & mentally ready to face undisputed 168-lb champ Canelo Alvarez next if he defeats little Charlo, Jermell (35-1-1, 19 KOs) next month on September 30th.
Ideally, Jermall should take a tune-up before he faces Canelo because that way, it’ll look less like a phony money-grab, and more like a genuine fight.
A good warm-up for the Canelo fight for Jermall would be against former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant.
Jermall needs a get-back after Plant slapped the you-know-what out of him recently in Texas because it appeared that he didn’t even try to answer back.
Of course, fighting Plant would be risky for Jermall, especially for someone who has been out of the ring for two years.
Fighting Plant would mean that Jermall would be risking his $10 million+ retirement payday against Canelo, but if he beats him, he will make the fight with the Mexican superstar a lot bigger.
If Jermall goes into the Canelo fight after two years of inactivity, many boxing fans will save their money, viewing the bout as a mismatch.
Depending on how soon Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) plans to return to action, Jermall must show that he’s still all there with his motivation toward his career.
PBC will likely throw Jermall straight in with Canelo next because if they don’t take this fight, fans will want the Mexican star to face David Benavidez or Terence Crawford. If Canelo loses the second fight of his three-fight deal with PBC, that will wreck things for his third fight.
Charlo’s two years of inactivity suggests to some that he’s lost interest in the sport, and if he comes back, it’s just to scoop up one last payday against Canelo before permanently disappearing from boxing.
In Jermall’s last fight against fringe contender Juan Macia Montiel, he gassed out after six rounds and took a lot of punishment down the stretch. Jermall’s legs looked rubbery, and his punching power was completely gone.
It’s difficult to see Jermall continuing his career after he gets his big payday fight against Canelo. If he does fight again after that, it would only be if he were offered crazy money or if he goes broke.