Jermall Charlo eyeing bout with Canelo Alvarez
It’s far from late-breaking news to hear that the boxing public is unhappy with WBC World middleweight champion Jermall “Hit Man” Charlo’s (32-0, 22 KO’s) 160-pound resume. His last opponent, Juan Montiel, drew especially harsh criticism. Despite being virtually unknown to a large segment of the boxing populace, Montiel pushed Charlo to his limits.
The iron-willed Mexican defied the wide perception that he would be knocked out and took the fight to the cards. Long after the bout ended, Hit Man would go live on his social media to confess that he broke his hand in the fight. Some will say this confession was to highlight his toughness, while others will hear it as an alibi for an undesirable performance.
“Yea, I broke my hand in the third round; I didn’t tell y’all shit! I’m not going to complain, I am just going to stay in the paint. You know I stayed in the paint with him!”
GIVE ME THE CASH COW!!
In the end though, looking back and lamenting the past often comes to unproductive results. This is why Charlo is busying himself thinking about the future. Hit Man, like so many fighters, hopes that he can land a bout with unified super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KO’s). Charlo is well aware that Alvarez is deep in negotiations with IBF super middleweight champion Caleb “Sweethands” Plant (21-0, 12 KO’s).
Canelo has been on a self-ordained mission to become the undisputed super middleweight champion since entering the division. Plant holds the last belt preventing the completion of this operation. Yet if for some reason that prizefight does not come to fruition, Hit Man would love to take on Plant with a greater mission in mind. Or does he?
“If Caleb Plant don’t get that Canelo fight then I am going to fight Caleb Plant! And the winner out of me and Plant fight Canelo! That makes sense? Y’all stupid, I’m cut for 160. Dummies!”
STAR WISHING
While the sentiment sounds good, we are outrageously unlikely to get a Jermall Charlo versus Canelo Alvarez showdown. For one, Charlo has been fruitlessly calling about Canelo for years. In spite of his repeated campaigning, Canelo has never shown any real interest in fighting him. Also, the Hit Man is severely guilty of the charge of crying wolf. This has been true with WBO World middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade and super middleweight David Benavidez.
When it comes to Andrade and Benavidez, the Hit Man’s opinion has twisted and shifted more than the liquid terminator bathing in molten steel. One minute he is 100% on board, then the next he’s in his Janet Jackson bag asking what have they done lately. To his credit however, if Canelo displayed any interest, in all probability Charlo would jump at the chance.
Unfortunately, this would-be fight line-up seems to be Charlo speaking tongue in cheek. This is a true shame. Charlo acts like moving up is out of the question, yet for the briefest of moments the Hit Man said he’d go up in weight to face Benavidez. So the notion of him moving up is not farfetched in and of itself. Charlo showed reticence about facing Benavidez because he has no title, yet Plant is a belt-holding champion. So that escape route is not available. With all these available opponents, and laughed at would-be opposition, it will be very telling to see who Jermall Charlo faces next.
By: Bakari Simpson
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