Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, the esteemed Mexican boxer who is also the undisputed super middleweight world champion of the world, will have the rare feat of facing fellow undisputed world champion, Jermell Charlo. What is the catch? Charlo is the junior middleweight undisputed world champion, moving up two weight classes to face Canelo in what will transition the fight calendar from summer into fall, as the September 30th, pay-per-view nears closer.
The fight caught a lot of people by surprise, but not Charlo, who feels that this is his destiny to face one of the best fighters of his era.
Recently, Jermell Charlo went on Cigar Talk, a popular YouTube platform to discuss this fight.
“I knew [Canelo] was one of the greatest fighters of my era, and I had seen him fight some solid guys, and I had seen him fight some sorry guys,” said Charlo to Cigar Talk on YouTube. “I already knew, my time would come…when you stop worrying about it, [it] can pop up, and that’s how it happens.”
Another interesting storyline that is now building up in this bout is Terence Crawford. Crawford jawwed at Jermell Charlo when he dropped his stablemate Errol Spence Jr., before stopping him in their blockbuster pay-per-view on July 29th, and recently Crawford has stated that he'd face Canelo Alvarez as well in multiple interviews. In this same interview, Charlo issued a strong warning to Crawford.
“Don’t bite off more than you can chew,” said Charlo when asked about Terence Crawford talking to him after dropping his stablemate, Errol Spence Jr. “I’m one of those ones. You got to face me. I got to see what you on.”
For Charlo, this step up in weight is a risk, but a calculated one facing one of the biggest draws in the sport, and a chance to be one of the greatest of this generation. Despite facing setbacks due to injuries Charlo dismisses any talk of the weight and size being an issue in the fight at all. This comes on the heels of many fight fans believing Jermell Charlo is bigger than Canelo Alvarez, and Austin Trout, who fought both of them saying Charlo is stronger.
“I think [my weight] is more of a concern for the fans, and the people that’s watching,” said Charlo. “We have a solid team around us, we are working, super, super hard.”
Charlo also spoke to the nature of this bout has to be perfect, given the quality of the opponent he is facing. Charlo made no mistakes about it that he will need to fight a flawless fight.
“Sometimes I have to tap into who I am,” said Charlo. “This [fight] is a little bit deeper. No mistakes can happen.”
