Jermall Charlo (32-0, 19 KOs) has disappointingly come in overweight at 166.4 lbs for Friday’s weigh-in for his 163-lb catchweight bout against Jose Benavidez Jr. (28-2-1, 19 KOs) tomorrow evening on Showtime pay-per-view.
The management of Jermall and Benavidez Jr. are negotiating financial terms for the fight to still take place. The 31-year-old Benavidez Jr. will get more money for the bout to take place. Just how much is unclear, but it’ll likely be enough to make him happy.
It’s not a big deal because Jermall-Benavidez Jr. is a non-title fight, and a tune-up for Charlo, who hasn’t fought in ages. Trainer Jose Benavidez Jr. mentioned recently that he’d refused to have the weight moved up to 166 lbs during the negotiations for the contest, so it’s clear that Jermall knew a long time ago that he wouldn’t be able to make the 163-lb catchweight limit.
On the bright side, Benavidez Jr. will now have a good excuse to tell the fans if he loses to the unbeaten Jermall Charlo on Saturday. He can blame it on Jermall being heavier than him, and some sympathetic fans will buy it. Obviously, Benavidez Jr. is out of his league against Jermall, even if he did make weight.
Charlo, who hasn’t fought in 28 months, weighed 3.4 lbs over the contractual 163 pound catchweight weigh-in limit for his ten round fight against the eager, amped-up Benavidez Jr. in their co-feature fight on the David Benavidez vs. Demetrius Andrade card at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
It would be interesting to know what Benavidez Jr. is paid for the weight thing, as Jose Sr. had said there would be a stiff weigh-in penalty involved if Charlo came in over the limit.
Ultimately, none of this changes anything as far as the actual fight. The 31-year-old Benavidez Jr. is still up against it, taking on Jermall, and is likely going to get blown out of the water by him, especially if he tries to slug it out like he always does.
Benavidez Jr. needs a win badly for him to stay relevant as a B-side opponent for world champion fighters. He lost last year to former two-division world champion Danny Garcia at 154 in July 2022 and was knocked out in the twelfth round by WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford in 2018.
Jermall wants a strong showing on Saturday night to keep in the running for a fight against Canelo Alvarez next May on Cinco de Mayo. If Jermall destroys Benavidez Jr. in a crushing win, it’ll improve his chances of getting a fight with Canelo.
