Paulie Malignaggi says a fight between Jermall Charlo and Armando Resendiz makes the most sense now after Caleb Plant’s defeat last Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Malignaggi’s Charlo-Resendiz Call
Pauliei states that Resendiz (16-2, 11 KOs) can be used as an opponent to remake the former two-division world champion Charlo (34-0, 23 KOs) to position him for bigger fights. It’s pointless for the original plans for a Plant vs. Charlo fight to proceed after Caleb’s 12-round split decision loss to Resendiz.
Malignaggi says the former IBF super middleweight champion Plant (23-3, 14 KOs) looked old and didn’t show the hunger that he once had when he was younger, before he became wealthy.
The question is whether PBC would be willing to risk putting Charlo in with the 26-year-old Resendiz to help remake him. It wouldn’t be a PPV-worthy fight. So, if Jermall lost, his career would be done, and it wouldn’t be the final big cash-out payday like it would if he fought Plant, Canelo Alvarez, or Edgar Berlanga. Still, a victory for Jermall over Resendiz would help his popularity and make fans believe in him again.
Charlo looked decent last Saturday, stopping journeyman Thomas LaManna (39-6-1, 18 KOs) in the sixth round in their co-feature bout at super middleweight at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas. The 35-year-old Jermall wasn’t as impressive as he’d been two years ago in his previous fight against Jose Benavidez Jr. in 2023.
He didn’t even look good in that fight coming off a 2.5-year layoff. He was a little younger, and he was physically closer to his 2021 form than he was last Saturday. Against LaManna, Charlo looked slow, flabby, with diminished reflexes. What saved him was his power, jab, and superior technical skills.
“I thought they were going to waste everyone’s time going in. I thought [Jermall] Charlo had nothing left, and Plant had a little bit more left,” said Paulie Malignaggi on his YouTube channel about last Saturday’s fights in Las Vegas. “I thought you were just going to recycle Charlo so you can make a big fight between Charlo and Plant.
Charlo’s Risky Resendiz Remake
“Now, you can actually use Resendiz as a guy you can use as an opponent for Charlo’s remaking, his resurgence. Charlo has now beating Jose Benavidez. He’s beaten Thomas LaManna. If you put him in with Resendiz, he keeps stepping up the ladder. If he beats Resendiz, who is on a big roll himself, then you put him in a big fight.”
I’d be very surprised if Jermall’s management agrees to let him fight Resendiz, 26, next, because they’d be too worried that the same thing that happened to Plant would happen to him. If they’re just looking for the quick payday, they’ll just go for the Plant fight next, regardless of him coming off a loss. It would be pathetic, but the entire reason for Jermall coming back is to make quick money and then retire or wait until a big payday falls into his lap.
Resendiz’s Growing Popularity
“I don’t know what big fight there is at 168 at this point because the names are changing,” said Malignaggi. “Nonetheless, if he beats Resendiz, you put him in a big fight, or if Resendiz beats him, you’ve got a lot of options. Then it’s a Mexican fighter, who’s fun to watch, and the Mexican fans are going crazy for him.”
Resendiz has more upside to be popular than 35-year-old Jermall Charlo now. The older fans have forgotten about Chalro, and the younger ones have no interest in him. Those who saw him against LaManna weren’t impressed because he looked elderly and fat.
Jermall made no mention of wanting to fight Resendiz next at the post-fight press conference. He was still talking about wanting to fight Plant next, showing fans that he didn’t care about his loss. He still wanted to go through with the plans for this payday fight.
“Now, all of a sudden, you can put him in with Diego Pacheco. You can put him in with Lester Martinez. You can put him in with the Edgar Berlanga’s of the world. The Hamzah Sheeraz of the world if Resendiz beats Charlo. But if Charlo beats Resendiz, it’s the same thing. His name recognition will carry into all those fights as well. I do think there are options to do the Charlo-Resendiz fight at this point,” said Malingaggi.
