David Benavidez is adamant that he sleeps Jermall Charlo!
In his latest prizefight, WBC World Middleweight champion Jermall “Hit Man” Charlo (32-0, 22 KO’s) found himself in a no-win situation. He was up against Juan Macias Montiel (22-5-2, 22 KO’s), a man that no one knew in a fight no one wanted. Due to his anonymity, the great majority expected the Hit Man to make short work of Montiel. Once in the ring however, the Mexican foil refused to read from the script.
Montiel was hammered, blasted, clobbered and socked in the face all night long. With his odd style and stance, the Mexican moved about with the floppy limbs of a string puppet controlled by a drunk operator. Regardless of the curious movements and punishment he absorbed, Charlo could not put him away. Even worse than that is the fact that the Hit Man began looking fatigued in the final rounds. So in that no-win situation, Charlo was made to look vulnerable by someone who was largely perceived to be a pushover.
AFTER ALL THE TALK
Being the treacherous sport that it is, it didn’t take long for sharks to start sniffing around this apparent show of weakness. Charlo’s recent 168 pound nemesis David “Red Flag” Benavidez (24-0, 21 KO’s) wasted no time making his opinion public via his social media.
The two have had their names intertwined together for more than a year. In the inception of the back-and-forth, Charlo said that he would fight the former WBC World champion in his native super middleweight division. Red Flag was happy to accept the challenge. Then, somewhere along the line, Charlo abruptly lost his stomach for the showdown. Since his change in attitude, he largely avoids the topic or downplays Benavidez’s value as a marketable opponent.
BACK TO THE BRICKS
Ironically, Montiel in theory is simply an extremely watered down version of Benavidez. Both are come forward, high volume, steel-chinned themed fighters. While that is certainly an oversimplification, at base level the comparison is sound. So for many, the lasting impression is that this version of Charlo will probably lose to Benavidez. That notion could even be intensified since the Hit Man would be moving up in weight, if even for a catch-weight.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. There have already been steady complaints about Charlo’s opposition. Now, he has shown significant chinks in the armor. Will he rebound with a unification bout with WBO Middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade? Or, will Charlo display true moxie, move up and silence Benavidez with his knuckles? No matter what he chooses, all eyes are on Jermall Charlo. Luckily, no matter what he does, 3kingsboxing will be there to report the news.
By: Bakari Simpson
