From the moment Jermell Charlo strapped on his gloves for the very first time, he dreamed of becoming the man to beat. Fast forward over a decade later, and the truculent Houston native has done just that.
Although he’s competed just once a year for the past three years, he’s made the most of his sporadic appearances. In his lone outing of 2022, the 32-year-old righted what he believed was an injustice. One year prior, both Charlo and Brian Castano battled to a split decision draw. This time around, Charlo would get rid of his man in the championship rounds, doing so in the 10th frame.
With his undisputed chase complete, Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) hopes to engage in more mega matchups. When recently asked to put on his thinking cap and come up with the perfect foe to engage in a boxing spectacle, Charlo quickly mentioned a certain pound-for-pound luminary who’s currently campaigning a few divisions above him.
“Canelo,” said Charlo to Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast. “Jermell Charlo and Canelo. It can easily happen.”
Alvarez, of course, is attempting to bounce back from a lackluster 2022. After achieving his own undisputed glory in 2021, the Mexican star would come up woefully short in his light heavyweight foray against Dmitry Bivol. To close out his year, Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) picked up a unanimous decision victory against Gennadiy Golovkin in a listless outing.
Anxious to right the ship, the 33-year-old is officially scheduled to defend his IBF, WBO, WBC, and WBA super middleweight titles against John Ryder on May 6th. Should everything go according to plan, Alvarez will then attempt to lure Bivol back into the ring.
Charlo, in the meanwhile, has a long list of confident challengers awaiting him. Next up for the newly crowned undisputed titlist at 154 pounds is a showdown against WBO interim belt holder, Tim Tszyu, in the late summer.
Although he’s fully focused on taking care of business against the Australian up-and-comer, Charlo admits that if Alvarez were to come knocking on his door with a fight deal in hand, he’ll quickly take him up on his offer.
“I would take that fight easily.”
