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After mostly competing as a welterweight for the first three years of his career, Jermell Charlo has shown unusual discipline by remaining a junior middleweight since June 2011.
Eleven years in the same weight class is uncommon in boxing, yet the undisputed 154-pound champion doesn’t envision a move up to middleweight at any point in the foreseeable future. The 32-year-old Charlo intends to make more defenses of his IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO belts after he squares off against Australia’s Tim Tszyu.
They were scheduled to collide on January 28 in Las Vegas, but the fight was postponed after Charlo injured his left hadn in training camp.
“My whole career,” Charlo recently replied when asked how long he’ll fight at this weight. “I have a twin brother at 160. I have a stablemate [Errol Spence Jr.] at 147. We all comfortably make the weight and whatever happens in the future, I can’t predict. And I’m just ready to get it on as fast as y’all ready to see it.”
Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) became boxing’s first fully unified 154-pound champion by knocking out Argentina’s Brian Castano (17-1-2, 12 KOs) in the 10th round of their rematch May 14 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Most handicappers have installed the consistent Charlo as a 3-1 favorite to beat Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs), who is the mandatory challenger for Charlo’s WBO title.
“I make ’54 very easy,” Charlo said. “I’m 10 pounds overweight [early in training camp]. I’m sharp. I’m in shape. I don’t go in and talk about what I do. This is a lifestyle for me. Boxing is not just a sport. When we’re trying to win titles, we’re gonna win and we’re gonna enjoy it later. We’re gonna enjoy it when we sit back in our big mansions and chill with our families and homies and stuff, and we like, ‘Wow! We did it.’ And then, you know, sometimes you sit back and [think] we made it this far, but it’s just not done. It’s not over for me. I’m just too hungry at this moment.”
The Houston native acknowledged later that he would at least consider a jump up to the middleweight limit of 160 if his twin brother, Jermall Charlo, gives up his WBC belt to fight in the 168-pound division. Even then, it would take a high-profile opportunity for Jermell Charlo to consider giving up his 154-pound titles to compete at middleweight.
In addition to his obligatory bout against Tszyu, Charlo has mandatory defenses due against Bakhram Murtazaliev and Sebastian Fundora.
Russia’s Murtazaliev (21-0, 16 KOs) is the IBF’s number one contender in the 154-pound division. Fundora (20-0-1, 13 KOs), of Coachella, California, owns the WBC interim super welterweight title.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.