Jermall Charlo to defend his title against Juan Macias Montiel
In a recent smorgasbord of fight announcements, it was revealed that WBC World Middleweight champion Jermall “Iron Man” Charlo (31-0, 22 KO’s) will face Juan Macias “Juanito” Montiel (22-4-2, 22 KO’s) on June 19. The bout will stand as Charlo’s third defense of the full title. While it will be fun to see Charlo hop back in the ring, this bout will come as something of a buzzkill for many.
The disappointment is due to Charlo going toe-to-toe with Montiel rather than two-time world champion David “Red Flag” Benavidez (24-0, 21 KO’s). The two fighters have been selling woof tickets to one another for more than a year. Clearly, Benavidez wanted the fight more than Charlo who has obviously passed that opportunity by. Therefore it will be very interesting to hear what the Iron Man’s rationale for doing so was. It is true that Charlo would have had to jump up in weight to make the bout. However, that was always going to be the case.
Prior to stepping in the ring with Ronald Ellis in his last outing on March 13, Red Flag made it very clear that he would love to dance with Charlo directly after. At that point in time, Iron Man had a clear schedule. Instead of reciprocating that will to go to war, Charlo alibied that Benavidez brought nothing to the table because he had no belt. That claim made absolutely no sense when he uttered it and it makes less sense now. Benavidez is an undefeated two-time champion who countless fans want to see face boxing cash cow Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Instead Charlo picked a much less known fighter who has never even challenged for a title, with four losses and two draws. It would take a cleverer and more abstract mind than mine to make sense out of the Texan’s zany logic, so I will not even try!
Putting his losses and lack of world title fight experience to the side, Montiel clearly is a hard puncher. Of his twenty-two wins, all have come by way of stoppage. Now we will have to see if he has the enough skill to put his devastating paws on Charlo’s chin. Or, will the Iron Man press the “off button” on his chin first?
By: Bakari Simpson
