Charlo’s Career In Doubt With WBA Reclaiming The Title
The WBA has taken away the championship title from one-time undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo (35-2-1, 19KO). This move by the organization could signal the end of his boxing career as Iron Man continues to be on a downward spiral.
The boxing community is shaking their heads as reports from Fight Freaks Unite have revealed that Charlo is no longer a champion in the division. The WBA has followed suit with what the WBC did earlier in the year in naming him Champion In Recess.
The Texan has continued falling from grace since losing to undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September 2023. Charlo’s performance was so embarrassing that it earned him the 3Kings Boxing Biggest Letdown of The Year award. Prior to fighting Canelo, he was stripped of the WBO title for not fighting then-mandatory challenger Tim Tszyu.
IS THIS THE END OF HIS CAREER?
Over the following months things went from bad to worse, as Iron Man vacated the IBF title instead of facing the mandatory challenger. In addition, him losing the WBA and WBC belts has boxing fans believing this is the end of the road. In most cases, this wouldn’t signal a fighter’s career is coming to an end. Yet, Charlo’s situation is very different compared to most cases of this nature in the past.
For one thing, he is dealing with legal issues that could keep him out of the ring after being charged with misdemeanor assault in December 2023. His market value has plummeted as boxing fans remain adamant on not wanting to see him fight again. Their outrage was justified in large part due to his previously mentioned performance against Alvarez.
For the organizations to place him as Champion In Recess means they have no idea what he plans on doing moving forward. At the very least, the one-time undisputed champion probably won’t be fighting in 2024.
The problem with that is in boxing, out of sight truly means out of mind and the longer he is away from the sport, the harder it will be for the 33-year-old to return.
