Canelo Alvarez to Fight Jermell Charlo on September 30 for Undisputed!
Boxing is full of twists and turns. That is especially so for undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs), whose next fight will be against reigning junior middleweight champion Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs).
Canelo made the announcement via social media. The bout will occur on September 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will air on Showtime pay-per-view.
FULL OF SURPRISES
On June 22, the 168-pound champion announced that he had signed a three-fight deal with PBC. Word on the street was the first fight of that deal would be against Jermall Charlo, reigning WBC middleweight champion and twin brother of Jermell.
Iron Man has been out of action since May 2022, when he scored a tenth-round knockout over Brian Castano to become the undisputed champion. It was widely believed that next for the junior middleweight champion was a fight with WBO Interim Champion Tim Tszyu. So, suffice it to say, Charlo fighting Canelo is a big surprise to the boxing world.
Charlo is moving up two weight classes to face Alvarez. From a skills perspective, Charlo can compete with the Mexican superstar. But it will be interesting to see how the lifelong 154-pounder will deal with the size and punching power of the super middleweight champion. At the very least, a fight with Canelo Alvarez is the highest profile and biggest payday of his career.
What does it say about Alvarez deciding to fight Charlo instead of mandatory challenger David Benavidez? Does Charlo fighting Alvarez means that he will be stripped of the WBO junior middleweight belt and Tszyu will be elevated to full-time WBO champion? The ramifications of Canelo vs Charlo will be massive.
