Jermell Charlo Talks Tony Harrison Trilogy!
On Saturday, December 21, the re-crowned WBC world junior middleweight champion Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo (33-1, 17 KO’s) went to a “fan-friendly” war with Tony “Super Bad” Harrison (28-3, 21 KO’s).
Over the course of the grueling and thudding prizefight, it appeared as if Harrison was getting the better of the action.
That was until the eleventh round, when he was caught with a malevolent left-hook that directly led to his unraveling and ultimate stoppage. Until that moment, the entire fight was an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride.
The kind of stuff that Hollywood producers wish they could pour on all their summer action blockbusters.
WANNA RUN IT BACK?
The follow-up rematch was a splendid change of pace from the slower paced, chess match of the first fight. Where the first fight was a bull and matador, the rematch was a back alley fight between gang leaders. It was a war over territory and respect, and they tangled with lethal intent.
Even better than the increase in action was the fact that the neck-and-neck aspect remained the same. What boxing fans would not want to see a rumble like that again? They are 1-and-1, it’s only natural to want to run it back, right?
The subject arose during the post-fight conference and the junior middleweight Iron Man did not seem opposed to the idea. But he did have a stipulation.
YOU GOT TO PAY US, MAN!
Charlo appeared to be in alignment with the notion of a trilogy, although he maintained the caveat that the next one goes to pay-per-view.
Yet, who can blame him? When you know for a fact that you’re training to go to a “sure-fire going-to-take-chunk-out-of-my-flanks” barn-burner, you might want some compensation! And that was exactly how the concussion-inducing Texan felt.
“I got a lot on my shoulders. It [the Harrison fight] wasn’t necessarily closure. I got a lot more to handle and business to take care of in the division.
“I know a big question is, ‘would you do a trilogy?’ Take that shit to pay-per-view! This easily could have been pay-per-view, you know what I mean?
“FOX did an amazing job with promoting and all of the things that we’ve seen. Hey man it’s whatever.”
TWO AWAY FROM UNDISPUTED
Personally I wouldn’t mind seeing this fight again. Perhaps not next though. Both men should have a chance to think about someone else for a while!
What would be a great follow-up is a unification match with WBA, IBF and IBO world junior middleweight champion Julian “J-Rock” Williams (27-1-1, 16 KO’s).
However, Williams first must defeat Jeison “Banana” Rosario (19-1-1, 13 KO’s), who he is scheduled to fight on January 18, 2020. Provided that J-Rock defends his belts, Charlo v Williams would not only be a great action fight, but a meaningful unification bout.
The last remaining belt in the division belongs to WBO junior middleweight Patrick Teixeira (31-1, 22 KO’s).
Teixeira just fought in November and is not presently scheduled to fight. It’ll be interesting to see the next move of Charlo and Harrison.
By: Bakari Simpson
