Jermall Charlo Willing To Fight Canelo Alvarez in Mexico

By Peter Lim

Jermall Charlo (28-0, 21 KOs) is scheduled to take on Brandon Adams (21-2, 13 KOs) in his hometown of of Houston on June 30 at the NRG Arena. It will be Charlo's first fight on home turf since 2012.

But should Charlo get past Adams, he would have no qualms about being the one fighting behind enemy lines, even if it requires having his passport stamped to get there. At the top,of Charlo's hit list is Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, top box office draw in the sport today.

"I really want to fight Canelo," Charlo said. "I want to fight Canelo more than I want to fight (Gennady) Golovkin. It's a matter of time. He's got to stop getting manipulated by the network and call my name. We can work something out, trust me."

"I will fight him there in Mexico," Charlo added. "I love Mexico."

Thus far, the top three middleweights only seem interested in facing each other for the most lucrative paydays. The top two, Golovkin and Canelo, have faced each other twice and both have fought Danny Jacobs, the perceived third man in the middleweight hierarchy. While waiting for each other, Canelo and Triple G have opted to stay busy against easier opponents rather than tangle with the top 160-pound contenders. In between his rematch with Golovkin and his victory over Jacobs last month, Canelo stopped Rocky Fielding for a world title at 168 in December. This weekend, Golovkin faces Steve Rolls (19-0, 10 KOs), an obscure Canadian who, at best, sits on the fence between prospect and contender. Should Golovkin get past Rolls, a third showdown with Canelo is widely anticipated.

"I'm in the mix," Charlo said. "I'm going to keep winning and eventually they're going to have to fight me. I'm one of the top middleweights in the division and as a matter of fact I'm one of the top fighters in the world. I've moved up in weight after being the champion at junior middleweight."

Canelo's performance against Jacobs last month was an indication that the Mexican has peaked and plateaued, Charlo said.

"He's slowing down and I'm speeding up," Charlo said. "I'm getting stronger and he's showing the same thing he's always shown. What you all don't realize is he hasn't fought a fighter like me yet. He hasn't fought someone as hungry as me. He hasn't fought a fighter who don't care about the crowd."

But Charlo also failed to impress in his last fight, a 12-round decision over Matt Korobov in December. Korobov was a last-minute replacement for Willie Monroe Jr. who was dropped after testing for elevated levels of testosterone. 

"My last performance I went 12 rounds and had to go the decision against a tough Russian," Charlo said. "But a lot of fighters can't beat Korobov. He's a tough guy and I take my hat off to him. Styles make fights and he had the appropriate style to survive."

"There's nothing we could have done about the last fight for the simple reason they changed the opponent five days before the fight," said Charlo's trainer Ronnie Shields. "The guy was also a southpaw but it was a completely different style."

As for his June 30th homecoming, Charlo said Adams is not at his level but he won't be taking the Californian lightly either. Adams' greatest claim to fame was winning The Contender tournament last year where he defeated Shane Mosely Jr. in the finals. His two losses were a second round TKO against John Thompson in 2015 and a 10-round decision to Willie Monroe Jr. in 2014.

"He's hungry but he's never been on this stage and he knows how to take a loss. I'm going to stick to the game plan that Ronnie Shield's going to build for me," Charlo said. "I'm fighting in front of my hometown so of course the pressure's on me but it won't affect me at all. My city will get a chance to see what I have as a champion."

Shields echoed Charlo's assessment that Adams should not be taken lightly despite his relative inexperience.

"Brandon's the kid that won The Contender. He's one of those guys that puts a lot of pressure on you and comes forward. He's a tough guy," Shields said. "When you get to this level, there's no easy fights. Jermall is going to be in great shape and he's ready to go."

Appearing at a press conference last week, Adams was courteous and respectful but evasive about the specifics of his fight plan.

"As a fighter my best attribute is that I work real hard, I really push myself to the limits," Adams said.

Asked his key to victory against Charlo, Adams replied; "Just being me. I can only get in the way of myself. If I stick to doing what I do, I believe I'll get the victory."