Former WBC junior middleweight champion Jermell ‘Iron Man’ Charlo (32-1, 16 KOs) will be looking to win back his title in a rematch against WBC 154-lb champion Tony Harrison (28-2, 21 KOs) on December 1 on PBC on Fox at the Toyota Center [formerly called the Citizens Business Bank Arena] in Ontario, California.
Harrison vs. Charlo rematch taking place in neutral territory
With the rematch taking place in California, neither fighter will have an advantage. Charlo, 29, is from Richmond, Texas, and has been fighting a lot lately in New York. For Harrison’s part, he’s from Detroit, Michigan, and he’s not likely going to have an advantage in fighting Charlo in Ontario, California. But it’ll be fair in having the rematch on neutral ground.
Given all the complaining from Charlo over the results of their fight last December, it’s important that the rematch take place in a location that favors neither fighter. The loser can’t point fingers at the judges and make assumptions.
Charlo lost unpopular decision
The two fought last December with Harrison out-pointing the previously unbeaten Charlo by an unpopular 12 round unanimous decision. The scores were 115-113, 115-113 and 116-112. The boxing fans at ringside for the fight weren’t pleased with the results. They felt that Charlo had done enough to get the ‘W’ in the contest based on his harder, cleaner landing power shots.
It’s taken a little longer than originally expected for Harrison and Charlo to face each other in a rematch. They had their rematch scheduled for June 23 last Summer, but Harrison hurt his ankle while training for the fight.
Charlo, the twin brother of WBC middleweight champion Jermall, needs to come up with a better game plan for the rematch with Harrison. It didn’t work out well for Jermell last December with him trying to bang Harrison out.
The problem with that strategy is Harrison had already been involved in wars against other sluggers in the last two years, and he was ready for Jermell’s aggressive style. Harrison had lost to Willie Nelson and Jarrett Hurd when he slugged with those guys. Rather than repeat that mistake against Charlo, Harrison fought smart, using his jab, and nailing him with shots as he wind up on his big shots.
Harrison vs. Charlo 2 rematch winner has great options
There will be some interesting fights available to the winner of the Harrison vs. Charlo 2 rematch at 154. IBF/WBA junior middleweight champion Julian ‘J-Rock’ Williams is the best option out there for the Harrison-Charlo winner. There’s an outside chance that they might be able to face WBO champion Jaime Munguia, but that would depend on Golden Boy Promotions. They’re trying to mold the young 23-year-old Munguia (34-0, 27 KOs) into a star without putting him at risk. Fighting the Charlo vs. Harrison rematch winner would be a HUGE risk for Munguia. For that reason, Golden Boy probably won’t let Munguia anywhere near those guys.
