Jermell Charlo Advises a Training Adjustment for Jermall
In the sport of boxing, it’s rather rare to see brothers make their bones in the sport and rise to true prominence. It’s even more rare when this is accomplished by twin brothers. Regardless of how unlikely this phenomenon is, this is exactly what was achieved by WBA Super, IBF and WBC super welterweight champion Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KO’s) and WBC middleweight champion Jermall “Hit Man” Charlo (32-0, 22 KO’s). Despite their looks in the mirror however, their professional resumes are staggeringly different.
To begin, on Saturday May 14, Jermell will go head-to-head with WBO 154-pound champion Brian Castano to crown an undisputed champion. On this journey to arrive at this point in his career, Iron Man has had to challenge himself in a number of bouts. To date, the unified champion has tested his might against Gabriel Rosado, Vanes Martirosyan, Erickson Lubin, Austin Trout, Tony Harrison (twice), and is about to fight Castano in a rematch. Conversely, his brother Jermall has come under great fire due to his overtly lackluster resume.
MY BROTHER’S KEEPER
As one would imagine, Jermell was unwilling to throw his brother under the bus and opted not to place blame at his feet. Instead, Iron Man suggested that perhaps the real thing holding his brother back is the proper training. At the moment, Hit Man is coached by boxing notable Ronnie Shields. At one point in time, Shields served as the chief second to both fighters but they split when the trainer was unwilling to relocate to accommodate Jermell. Putting the past to the side, Iron Man expressed his feelings that Jermall’s training had become stagnant.
“And my brother honestly, I hate to say it, [he needs to] increment a little bit more training. Like DJ [Derrick James] and get to Guzman and get just a little more clutch, I think he got a super good chance. Ronnie Shields is great but when you hear from the same person for so long, you need a little bit extra to develop your skills and I think that is all that my brother is missing.”
Ultimately, the unified champion might have a legit point when saying his brother could benefit in a new direction in training. Yet, whether he goes with a new trainer or old, this has very little to do with Hit Man signing on to fight more significant fights. So let’s hope that no matter what has to take place, we get to see Jermall accept the same tough challenges that his brother Jermell is.
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By: Bakari Simpson
