Jermell Charlo, the undisputed junior middleweight world champion, is gearing up for a historic showdown against Canelo Álvarez, the undisputed super middleweight world champion, set to take place on September 30th as a SHOWTIME PPV event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The selling point of the fight is that it marks the first time two reigning male undisputed champions in the four-belt era will go head-to-head, with Charlo moving up two weight classes to face Canelo.
Charlo, hailing from Houston, aims to achieve undisputed status in a second weight class by defeating one of the most iconic figures in the sport of boxing in Canelo. Throughout the whole build-up, he has spoken with pride and a focus on legacy, his virtual (which means private media workout) on Monday was something that saw him follow the same tropes.
“Now is the right time for this fight," said Charlo. "We’re in our primes and at our best. I wanna shake the doubters off and prove to the world why I’m in this position. There’s a reason I made it this far. I’m gonna show what I’m made of. Everything I’ve done since I was eight years old, I’m putting it all on the line now."
Charlo went further to explain the risk he was taking.
“I’m not going to have to worry about losing too much weight," said Charlo. "Of course there’s pressure. We have to be dominant and not just rely on a knockout. I have to beat him for 12 rounds. I have to do what I have to do in the ring to protect myself while still being vicious."
Charlo's trainer, Derrick James, sees this as a historic opportunity for Charlo to become a legend of boxing, a fighter who is talked about forever as one of the greats. For Charlo, to reach the level of the stature of a Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather, he needs to not just win, but look great doing so. This is something Charlo touched on in the recent All Access piece as well.
"Having two undisputed championships at the same time would be amazing," said James. "It would be historic for Jermell."
Both Charlo and his trainer are showing deep focus toward the goal at hand, and that is what you want to see in the build-up to such a big pay-per-view fight.
