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Jermell Charlo is emerging from his 15-month hibernation phase. He asks the PBC to arrange a fight for him against the “best” they have at 154.
“Let it make sense”
At that weight, they have no one to watch against the former undisputed junior middleweight champion, Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs). He says, “Make it meaningful,” which is code for Jermell’s desire for a big payday for his return. That ship sailed a long time ago.
Jermell probably wants to be showered with enough wealth to buy the Beverly Hillbillies mansion in Bel Air, California.
That doesn’t seem likely unless Turki Alashikh wants to use him for one of his cards to feed him Serhij Bohachuk. That would be fun to watch.
It’s too late for Jermell to fight Terence Crawford. He’s hunting big game and trying to get a golden parachute retirement against Canelo Alvarez. He will not waste time on a fighter who has no ambition and has been sitting on his sofa for 15 months.
Charlo may have burned his bridges with the lackluster effort he put forth against Canelo Alvarez last time, and destroyed what little popularity he had after that by sitting on the shelf for over a year.
Jermell was paid an estimated $20 million in that fight, which might explain why fans haven’t seen him in hair or hair since.
It’s possible the PBC could arrange a fight for Jermell against the newly crowned IBF 154lb champion Bakram Murtazaliev. However, Charlo, 34, never showed any interest in fighting Murtazaliev during his IBF mandate, so it’s hard to see him agreeing to fight him now. If Charlo wants the fastest way to the world title. Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KO) would be the right guy.
Charlo’s demands
“Premier Boxing, give me the best you’ve got, or whoever you think can handle me at 154. Let the fans choose. Only lions. Make it meaningful,” Jermell Charlo said on social media.
It would be brave of Charlo to challenge the undefeated Murtazaliev for his IBF belt, but it probably won’t happen. That guy is too good.
Murtazaliev destroyed former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu with a third-round knockout on October 19, dropping him four times in the fight. If he could do that against the active and still young Tszyu, you can only imagine what Murtazaliev would do to a rusty old Jermello.
Jermell looked awful in his one-sided 12-round unanimous decision loss to Canelo Alvarez 15 months ago on September 30, 2023. Charlo didn’t even seem to try to win the fight as he moved around the ring, playing it safe for 12 rounds. Many boxing fans believe that Jermell came for a paycheck and never intended to try to win.
The fact that Jermell hasn’t wrestled since that loss only adds to the belief that it was always about the money for him.
