Jermell Charlo Advises Terence Crawford to Challenge Spence By Any Means
On May 14, unified junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KOs) faces WBO champ Brian Castano (17-0-2, 12 KOs) for the undisputed honors at 154 pounds. It’s a rematch between the two warriors as they battled to a twelve-round split-decision draw in July 2021.
At 154, Charlo is the center of the division. Currently holding three of four world sanctioning body titles, the 31-year-old understands fighters lurking in and around his division itching to get their shot.
One of those fighters is current WBO welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs), who said he has eyes on facing the winner of the Charlo-Castano rematch. During an interview on The Last Stand Podcast, host Brian Custer asked Charlo about Crawford. The unified junior middleweight champ held nothing back when addressing Crawford who currently ranks third in 3Kings Boxing’s Top Ten fighter rankings.
HANDLE YOUR BUSINESS FIRST
“How about he does what’s best and fight Errol Spence then! Shut up, take a little bit less money, be quiet, humble yourself, and fight Errol Spence. He’s a stud […] Be a challenger sometimes. These people don’t know how to do that. They don’t know how to be the challenger.
That’s his problem. He thinks he’s too high up on the horse. Bob Arum doesn’t give a damn about him […] He’s got lawsuits with his own promoter, […] That means the man didn’t care about you anyways!
You should have just shut up, made the right decision with your people that love you, and then do what you got to do […] Come fucking with me, you gonna get knocked the fuck out.”
DOES HE HAVE A POINT?
Charlo is referring to Crawford’s dismissive attitude about a fight with Spence as well as his much-publicized lawsuit against Arum. A big point of order as to why Spence-Crawford has yet to be made was Crawford’s insistence that he deserves an equal size of the financial pot. But at Welterweight, Crawford has not done enough to earn a larger percentage of the financial split. With his two world titles and having fought tougher competition in the division, Spence is the A-side.
It’s a fight highly coveted by fans and pundits, and would be a shame should it not happen. So, Charlo is correct to suggest that Crawford needs to exhaust all means to finally make that fight a reality.
The unified junior middleweight champ went on to tell Custer that because of his skills and dedication, there’s no way that Crawford beats him. Never one to turn the other cheek when being called out, it will be interesting to see how the WBO welterweight champ responds. Right now, a fight between Jermell Charlo and Terence Crawford is mere talk. However, fans should keep an eye on this, especially should Crawford eventually sign a deal with PBC. We may have a simmering rivalry on our hands.
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By: Michael Wilson Jr.
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