Trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. is worried that Jermall Charlo will put out of his fight against Jose Benavidez Jr. due to a mental issue or an injury for their ten round co-feature match on November 25th on Showtime PPV. Charlo & Benavidez Jr. will be fighting at a 163-lb catchweight rather than at 160 for Jermall’s WBC middleweight title.
(Photo credit: Victor Ren/SHOWTIME)
According to Jose Sr., he was notified by Charlo’s team that he couldn’t make that 160-lb limit, and they wanted the weight to be increased to 166 or 167. They finally agreed at 163 after Jose Sr. let them know that it was too much weight for his son Benavidez Jr. to be fighting at.
Jose Sr. says Jermall (32-0, 22 KOs) looked like he was on some kind of drug that had him nodding off during this week’s virtual press conference for his fight with Benavidez Jr (28-2, 19 KOs), and he doesn’t trust him from his appearance and things that he was saying.
It’s unclear why the 33-year-old Jermall looked so sleepy, but Jose Sr. is concerned because he feels this is a great opportunity for his son to beat the ring-rusty fighter and use the victory as a stepping stone for a world title shot at 160.
Considering that Charlo hasn’t fought in two and a half years, it’s understandable why Benavidez Sr. would have worries about him suddenly pulling out of the fight.
For Jermall to be out of action that long and not be injured, there has to be something seriously wrong that will still be present in the final two weeks before the November 25th fight date.
Jose Sr. worried about Jermall pulling out
“I believe in my heart he’s going to beat him. He’s been training hard, and I’m just hoping that Charlo shows up,” said Jose Benavidez Sr. to Fight Hub TV, talking about his fears that Jermall Charlo will pull out of his chief support bout scheduled against Jose Benavidez Jr. on November 25th.
“He could just wake up one day and go, ‘I’m not doing well mentally,’ and then the fight is off or ‘I got injured.’ I would like to think that, but I’m focused on Charlo. That’s who we want to fight,” said Jose Sr. when asked if they had a backup ready in case Jermall pulled out.
If Jose Sr. was that concerned about Charlo flaking out, he shouldn’t have let his son Benavidez Jr. agree to take the fight.
It would make sense for them to have turned down the offer, and let someone else take the fight, as there were plenty of fighters that would have readily accepted if they were asked.
At this point in Benavidez Jr’s sagging career, he can’t afford to say no to an offer by a popular fighter like Jermall, as he’ll likely never be given this chance again.
“Jermall Charlo, I’m praying for you. Before I go to sleep, I’m praying for you to show up on November 25th,” said Benavidez Sr.
Benavidez Jr. getting big opportunity
“This is a big opportunity for Junior to fight Charlo, another great champion. I don’t like the guy because he talks a lot of s**t, too, but he’s a great fighter,” said Jose Sr. “Before, I was a fan, and I’m still a fan. He’s a great fighter; he brings excitement to the fight.
“He’s undefeated, a world champion, a dangerous fighter, and for us, it’s a great opportunity. For Junior, it’s the biggest opportunity of his life to go up there and make a big upset, and I’m so sure and so happy that Junior is going to do that. On the 25th, it’s going to be a big upset.”
Benavidez Jr. lost to a washed Danny Garcia last year and was stopped by Terence Crawford. He looked weak in both of those fights, and nothing like his enormous younger brother, David Benavidez, who powers over him and his dad.
Even if Jermall is operating at 25% capacity on November 25th, he crushes Benavidez Jr, and overpowers him with his size, strength, speed, and athletic ability. Benavidez Jr. is more of a welterweight, and doesn’t belong fitting a huge middleweight like Jermall.
“It’s a great thing, I’m super excited, I’m super happy. We’re training hard. Junior is on another level. They [Team Charlo] think they’re going to come fight a guy [Benavidez Jr.] that is washed, is done because he got shot in the leg and all those things,” said Jose Sr.
It’s not that Team Charlo views Benavidez Jr. as “washed.” He’s just not that good and never has been, and getting shot in the leg in 2016 didn’t do anything other than make it more obvious.
“I think they made a big mistake of choosing Junior, and for us, it’s a great opportunity to take over and make a big upset,” said Benavidez Sr. “Junior is like that. Junior is like me in that he likes to talk a lot. David is more quiet.
Can Jose Jr. defeat Charlo?
“We entertain people, and I try not to be disrespectful to people, but I just feel confident of what we do,” said Benavidez Sr. “We’re in a game where we’re going to knock you out, or we’re going to get knocked out, or we could end up in a hospital.
“So, we have to put all that hard work in there and do the best that we can. I’m super happy that we do something that we love, and so far so good. We have to keep working hard and see how far we can go.
“I’m upset, but we’re the B-side,” said Benavidez Sr. when asked if he was upset that Jermall’s WBC middleweight title won’t be at stake for the fight against Jose Sr. “We agreed to 160 to fight for the world title, but three weeks from today, they called and said we’re not going to fight for the title no more because Charlo can’t do 160, and that they wanted to fight at 166, 167.
“I’m like, ‘What the [bleep]. Come on, bro. This guy is already at 160. He’s walking at 160. There’s no f***ing way. Junior is already at weight; he’s been at weight.’ Then we came to an agreement at 163, and we’re not fighting for the title no more.
“That’s a little bit sad, but as long as we beat him. He [Jermall] Charlo do the weight. I believe that once we beat him, even though if we were fighting for the title, we could have beaten him, and he has a clause. They should.
“They’re not stupid. They’ll put a rematch clause, and if he [Benavidez Jr.] beats him, maybe that could be a mandatory for a title. If we were fighting for a title, we would have a rematch also. So, it doesn’t matter. I’m super happy that Dave and Junior are fighting super hard, he’s super motivated, and we have a chance of a lifetime.
“I think he [Jermall] was on some s**t [drugs]. He was falling asleep and doing all that, but that’s his problem,” said Jose Sr. in reacting to Jermall Charlo saying during the virtual press conference that he hadn’t started training camp yet for his fight with Benavidez Jr. and that he would be starting tomorrow.
“It’s good for me that if he’s doing that. Then he said he was going to start camp tomorrow. Who f*** says that? Then he says he’s a professional and he’ll do whatever. Okay, if you’re a professional, then why don’t you want to fight at 168?
“People ask him, ‘Why aren’t you defending your title?’ ‘Oh, I do whatever I want.’ Keep thinking that. I really liked that press conference. I seen a lot. Junior intimidated him a little bit. S**t, we want to get in his head and do whatever we can do to take a little bit of leverage. This is what it’s all about.
“Junior is a good talker, and I see his spirit and that he really wants to win. He’s doing really well, being really disciplined, and I’m super excited no matter what happens,” said Benavidez Sr.
