By Keith Idec
Jermell Charlo isn’t interested in moving up to the middleweight division.
The unbeaten WBC super welterweight champion doesn’t just want to prove himself as the best 154-pound fighter in boxing. He also enjoys the separation that has accompanied his twin brother’s move to middleweight last year.
Jermell Charlo and Jermall Charlo each held 154-pound championships in 2016. Naturally, that prompted comparisons of the 28-year-old fighters from media and fans.
Jermall Charlo gave up his IBF junior middleweight title in February 2017. He has since won the WBC’s interim middleweight championship and is that sanctioning organization’s mandatory challenger for its 160-pound champion, Gennady Golovkin.
Jermell Charlo (30-0, 15 KOs) is content to remain at 154 pounds. A title unification fight against IBF/IBO/WBA champ Jarrett Hurd (22-0, 15 KOs) likely awaits Charlo if the Houston native can successfully defend his WBC crown against Austin Trout (31-4, 17 KOs) on June 9 at Staples Center in Los Angeles (Showtime).
“I ain’t moving up,” Jermell Charlo said during a conference call Wednesday. “Tell y’all now, I’m making weight, I’m hydrated, I’m all the way good. Like I’m right now – I’m waiting on the WBC to ask me for my seven-day weigh-in and I’m gonna surprise them with that. They asked me for my 30-day weigh-in and they was completely surprised from that. So I’m excited.
“I love this weight division especially because I’m separated from my brother. I don’t wanna be in the same division where it’s almost looking like, ‘Who’s the better fighter? Who’s the better twin?’ When it comes down to our careers and stuff, different opposition makes different fighters. And I’ve always been in there with some of the best in the weight division.”
The 5-feet-11 Jermell Charlo began his pro career as a welterweight in December 2007. He has competed exclusively within the super welterweight division since June 2011.
Jermall Charlo (27-0, 21 KOs), who’s listed as an inch taller than his brother, began his pro career as a junior middleweight in September 2008. He competed once as a welterweight, but mostly boxed at or around 154 pounds prior to advancing to middleweight last year.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.