Jermell Charlo vs Tony Harrisson: Getting over the Hump
December 22 has the potential to not only provide fans with an explosive fight, it may sharpen the mettle of the winner.
The WBC super welterweight champion Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo (31-0, 15KOs) will attempt his fourth title defense against Tony “Super Bad” Harrison (27-2, 20KOs).
Tony Harrison
This fight will definitely test both men in areas they’ve shown weaknesses in. First we talk about Harrison, whose suffered two defeats in which he had big leads on the scorecards and still came up short against Willie Nelson and Jarrett Hurd.
The Detroit native got off to fast starts in both fights, then faded down the stretch; leading to him being stopped. Harrison is a very slick boxer/puncher with good movement.
As a technician, he’s at or near the top of the division. His major flaws are stamina and pacing. “Super Bad” will need to improve in these areas to pull off a victory.
Jermell Charlo
He started his career under trainer Ronnie Shields as a classic boxer. The Texas native would switch to trainer Derrick James and, overnight, turned into a knockout artist.
Under James, Charlo would go on a four-fight KO streak until his most recent fight against former champion Austin Trout. While he did score two knockdowns, he was clearly frustrated at points and showed some defensive lapses.
In this fight, both fighters have the ability to to exploit the other’s weaknesses to achieve victory.
Advice to Harrison
For the Detroit native to win, he needs to be consistent with his jab and the combination punching. He’ll also need to be more economical in his movement, while knowing when and how to force tactical resets.
If he can do this, he’ll be in position to pull off the upset. Harrison will have to be a good poker player; knowing when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. He can’t linger in the pocket, and if he does, he needs to use clinches.
Advice to Charlo
As for Charlo, he’ll have to be patient. This is a fight where his opponent will be able to match his athleticism added with great movement.
The Texan will also have to utilize feints to setup his shots. He should utilize lessons he learned from the John Jackson and Austin Trout fights and put them to use.
The champion has shown he can be frustrated if he’s unable to land early. He also needs to show different looks to force Harrison to think as well. If Charlo can remain patient, he should be able to pull out a late stoppage or close points victory.
Outcome
If you’re betting on this fight, Charlo is a 7:1 favorite. This maybe a fight you want to bet a little something on the underdog Harrison because he has a legitimate chance to win this fight.
As for my official prediction, Charlo should pull off a late rounds stoppage, say, somewhere between 8 and 10.
By: Corey Cunningham
