By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Tony Harrison didn’t degrade Jermell Charlo’s spectacular knockouts of Charles Hatley and Erickson Lubin.

Charlo’s upcoming opponent just can’t help but feel those impressive victories have created the misleading impression that Charlo is a bigger puncher than is accurate. Houston’s Charlo contends Derrick James, his new trainer, has helped him become a harder puncher than he was when Ronnie Shields trained him.

Detroit’s Harrison still didn’t sound sold on Charlo’s power during an interview with BoxingScene.com following a press conference Thursday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

“I think everybody’s riding the wave of what he did to the perfect opponents,” Harrison said. “But I think those opponents were picked at the right time. I think it was a good job of matchmaking. He did awesomely. It was his job to do exactly what he did.”

Dallas’ Hatley (27-2-1, 19 KOs) and the previously unbeaten Lubin (19-1, 14 KOs), of Orlando, Florida, were mandatory challengers for Charlo’s WBC 154-pound championship prior to his respective victories over them in April 2017 and October 2017. Charlo, 28, made consecutive mandated defenses against Hatley and Lubin in accordance with WBC rules that stipulate boxers who win vacant titles must face two mandatory challengers.

Nevertheless, the 28-year-old Harrison has reservations regarding Charlo’s punching power entering their 12-round fight Saturday night at Barclays Center (FOX; 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).

Charlo went the distance with Austin Trout in his last fight, June 9 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Two bouts before Charlo beat him by majority decision in their largely one-sided 12-rounder, Trout (31-5, 17 KOs) suffered the lone knockout defeat of his career, a TKO following 10 rounds to IBF, IBO, WBA champ Jarrett Hurd (23-0, 16 KOs).

Hurd, of Accokeek, Maryland, stopped Harrison (27-2, 21 KOs) in the ninth round of their February 2017 fight in Birmingham, Alabama, to win the then-vacant IBF junior middleweight title. Harrison told BoxingScene.com on Thursday that he’d rather fight Charlo than Hurd because Hurd is so huge for their weight class.

“He only has 15 knockouts, man, in 31 wins,” Harrison said. “You know what I mean? So, he’s more of a technically sound fighter than a puncher. You know what I’m saying? I’m ready to just prove everybody wrong. Put this sh*t out after the fight – I’m gonna shock the world! Put it out after the fight that I told you so.”

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