By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Tony Harrison promised after a press conference Thursday that he would shock Jermell Charlo and rest of the boxing world Saturday night.

The three judges of their fight certainly did just that. Each of them scored their 12-round, 154-pound championship match for Harrison, who upset Charlo, won a unanimous decision and took the WBC super welterweight title from him at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Judges Julie Lederman (115-113), Ron McNair (115-113) and Robin Taylor (116-112) all scored this highly competitive clash for Detroit’s Harrison (28-2, 21 KOs). An angry Charlo (31-1, 15 KOs) vehemently disputed the decision during his post-fight interview with FOX and told a gracious Harrison that even the new champion knows Charlo deserved a decisive victory.

“They took that fight from me,” Charlo said. “I was pressing the action. He didn’t win that fight. I’m going to get my belt back. I still want Jarrett Hurd. … I might have given away a few rounds, but I won that fight.”

Harrison offered to give Houston’s Charlo an immediate rematch.

“I dictated the pace,” said Harrison, who was at least an 8-1 underdog, according to most Internet sports books. “That’s what champions do. He wound up for big shots and I kept my defense tight. All we worked on was defense. I kept my composure and I did what champions do.”

According to unofficial CompuBox statistics, Charlo out-landed Harrison by 32 overall punches (160-to-128). CompuBox counted more power punches for Charlo (108-to-71), but more jabs for Harrison (57-to-52).

Harrison’s surprising win ruined the 154-pound title unification fight Charlo hoped to secure against IBF/IBO/WBA champ Jarrett Hurd (23-0, 16 KOs) in 2019.

That fight could’ve happened next fall, according to Hurd, had Charlo won. Hurd is expected to face Philadelphia’s Julian Williams in a bout tentatively scheduled to take place at some point in the spring.

Charlo went the distance in a second straight bout with an opponent Hurd stopped. He defeated Austin Trout (31-5, 17 KOs) by majority decision in his last fight – a 12-rounder June 9 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

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Charlo, 28, failed in the fourth defense of the WBC 154-pound championship he won when he knocked out John Jackson in the eighth round of the May 2016 bout in Las Vegas. Harrison, also 28, improved to 1-1 in junior middleweight championship matches.

Hurd stopped Harrison in the ninth round when they fought for the then-vacant IBF title in February 2017 in Birmingham, Alabama. Harrison had previously lost by ninth-round TKO to Willie Nelson in July 2015.

Charlo appeared to hurt Harrison with a left hook up top early in the 12th round. Harrison moved and held his way to the final bell, but did enough to convince the three judges that he won.

Harrison worked well off his jab for much of the 11th round, but Charlo caught him with a short, left uppercut from the inside during the final minute of that round.

Harrison’s straight right hand and short left uppercut connected early in the 10th round. Charlo continued pressuring him for the rest of the 10th round, but couldn’t connect with a shot to hurt Harrison.

Harrison hit Charlo with a three-punch combination as they stood in the center of the ring at about the one-minute mark of the ninth round. Charlo clocked Harrison with a right hand to the side of his head a little later in the ninth.

Harrison pawed at his right eye after Charlo drilled him with a jab early in the seventh round. Harrison landed a left-right-left combination as Charlo came forward in the final minute of the seventh.

Within the first minute of the sixth round, Charlo drilled Harrison with a right hand and then a left hook. Harrison landed a jab and a left hook in the final minute the sixth.

Charlo drilled Harrison with a right hand early in the fifth round, but Harrison fired back with a right hand that knocked Charlo off balance briefly. Charlo shook his head at Harrison, who couldn’t follow up.

Later in the fifth, Charlo rocked Harrison with a right hand to the top of his head.

Harrison snapped back Charlo’s head with a jarring jab about 40 seconds into the fourth round. Charlo came back a little less than a minute later with a hard right hand to the side of Harrison’s head.

Harrison hit Charlo with a right hand, a left to the body and a hard jab later in the fourth. A left hook by Harrison caught Charlo on the side of his head toward the of the fourth as well.

Charlo hit Harrison with a left to the body and a straight right hand up top early in the third round. Harrison landed a short right hand inside late in the third round, soon after Charlo missed with a combination as Harrison backed toward the ropes.

Harrison hit Charlo with a straight right hand shortly after the midway point of the second round, his first clean shot of the fight. Harrison also worked well off his jab toward the end of the second round.

Charlo connected with a hard right hand to the side of Harrison’s head when there was about 50 seconds to go in the first round. Harrison had difficulty letting his hands go during those first three minutes.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.