Jermall Charlo is keeping his options open for his next fight if he successfully defeats Jose Benavidez Jr. in his comeback on November 25th. He says he’d like to fight Canelo Alvarez, Caleb Plant, or the David Benavidez vs. Demetrius winner.
(Photo credit: Andrew Hemingway/SHOWTIME®)
Charlo says he’d like to get his lick back against Plant for the slap he gave him last summer. He feels that if he fights the former IBF super middleweight champion Plant, he’ll knock him out and send him into retirement.
The uneaten Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) could put himself in a good position to fight Canelo Alvarez next May if he obliterates Benavidez Jr. (28-2-1, 19 KOs) in their ten round co-feature bout on the November 25th card on Showtime PPV.
Canelo has two fights left of his $100 million+, three-fight contract with PBC, and an ideal option would be for him to fight Jermall next May followed by the ‘Mexican Monster’ Benavidez in September if he defeats Demetrius Andrade in the main event on November 25th at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Jermall returning to form
“I’ve been enjoying it, liking it, back to my normal me,” said Jermall Charlo to Fighthype, talking about his training for his fight on November 25th against Jose Benavidez Jr.
“Get in there and have some wars, and by the time I fight, I’ll be as sharp as ever. I didn’t start when everybody expected me. So I started [camp] when I was ready,” said Jermall.
Jermall will have proven that he’s back to his old self if he can destroy Benavidez Jr. with an early knockout in a fight where he’s not forced to struggle.
With Jermall’s natural size, power, and talent advantage over Benavidez, he should be able to destroy this guy without too much trouble.
“You just got to block it out and stay motivated. I’m not necessarily worried about it,” said Charlo when asked about his thoughts on his fight with Benavidez Jr. being a lose-lose one because he won’t receive credit, even if he wins.
“He’s a professional boxer and can hurt anybody that’s saying that. So, I’ve got to stay on my Ps and Qs and look good and not let him hurt me. It’s one of those things where I’ve got to stay sharp, stay focused, and I’ll be on the top of my game.
Jermall would have “fought” Canelo
“To be successful, the only thing I could have did was fought him and probably had some success,” said Jermall when asked what he could have done if he’d fought Canelo Alvarez rather than his brother Jermell.
Jermall is a lot bigger, powerful, and rugged than his thinner twin brother, so he would have been able to meet Canelo on his own terms by slugging with him, and he wouldn’t have played it safe as Jermell did.
“I felt I needed time to train and get ready for that fight, and I wasn’t going to let them force money on me,” said Jermall. “So, I just let my brother fight him. He was active at the time. It’s not like I don’t have the opportunity to fight him, so why not?
“He’s the undisputed champion at 154. Unless he can’t make the weight and is hurting his body and he can’t do it, but I feel like he’s alright,” said Jermall when asked if Jermell should return to junior middleweight.
The way that Jermell is talking about only wanting big-money fights for the remainder of his career suggests that he’s going to sit inactive for as long as it takes for him to get the fight with Terence Crawford. So Jermell is basically retired except for a cash-out against Crawford, which might not ever happen.
“It would make more sense to fight a champion like Benavidez, Andrade or Canelo,” said Jermall. “Patience put me in the position where I can pick & choose. It’s going to be great fights from here on out.
“Benavidez beat Plant, so I feel that Andrade can beat Plant too. I’m not worried about Plant as much as the disrespect part. I could always run up on him and get my lick back.
“It’s still a win-win for me. Regardless, I’m not tripping on none of that. Let’s make it the right way. I go over there, I stop him, knock him out, and he will never fight again. His career is done. Benavidez has got a little more time.
“Andrade has got a little more time, but he’s pushing it in the sense that me and him would make a great fight.
“It’s going to be a close fight. If Andrade comes out for points, he can possibly outpoint Benavidez because Benavidez is just falling forward with punches, especially if his counter-punching is on point, then I give Andrade the edge.
“If he comes out and he’s not matching the hand and Benavidez as being as busy, then Benavidez is going to win. I doubt Benavidez can overwhelm Andrade,” said Jermall.
