Jermall Charlo is NOT Yet on Board For Julian Williams Defense

By Steve Kim

As of now, Jermall Charlo (24-0, 18KOs) is supposed to defend his IBF junior middleweight title against his mandatory challenger, Julian Williams (22-0, 14KOs). But as of yet, Charlo has yet to sign on the dotted line.

Charlo created a bit of a tizzy on Twitter when he stated (@FutureofBoxing):"CharloWilliams is worth millions."

Whether that's true or not is a matter of opinion, but the question is when will this fight be consummated?

Lindsey Tucker, the IBF's Championship Chairman told BoxingScene.com on Monday morning - "We had that resolution and then we found out that Charlo had some kind of an eye injury. So he got a 60-day medical extension. So that starts back up September the 8th. That's when we start the process, again."

The hope was to stage this fight in October somewhere in the Los Angeles area.

"When Charlo comes back (on September 8th) we're going to give him 15 days to get the contracts in and if they don't, then unfortunately we'll probably have to go through a purse bid. That's the only other tool that we have," explained Tucker, who says that if Charlo vacates the title then Williams will face the number two ranked Tony Harrison for the vacant crown.

Charlo last made a defense of his IBF belt on May 21st, defeating Austin Trout in a 12-round decision. It was at that point he was then expected to face Williams next.. Williams saw action back in March when he stopped Marcello Matano in seven rounds.

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.