Jermell Charlo stood on the shore as the Canelo Alvarez boat passed him by. Although they both fought in the junior middleweight division at one point, a matchup between them became more and more unlikely as Alvarez began moving up in weight.
The Mexican star made the middleweight division his playpen, the super middleweight division became his backyard, and the light heavyweight division, at least transiently, was his home away from home. Charlo, throughout it all, remained at 154 pounds, aggregating every world title in the meanwhile.
With their careers heading in opposite directions, Alvarez, seemingly on a whim, decided that Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) was the right opponent for his next ring appearance. Officially, the two will lock horns on September 30th, in Las Vegas, Nevada at 168 pounds.
For years now, Charlo has considered himself one of the best fighters in the world. Should he take care of business and beat Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) in his first fight in the super middleweight division, Charlo will look back proudly as confirmation of what he already knew.
“It’ll let me know that I’m right where I should be,” said Charlo to a group of reporters when asked what a win over Alvarez would mean to him.
Through years of backbreaking labor behind the scenes and big-time wins in front of the camera, when Alvarez chooses to walk away from the sport, he’ll march straight into the Hall of Fame.
His enshrinement is essentially a guarantee. With title reigns in four separate weight classes, the Mexican star engraved his name amongst the all-time greats quite some time ago.
In his own right, Charlo has cemented himself as one of the best fighters around. Still, even with an undisputed run at 154 pounds, the 33-year-old, at least to a certain extent, doesn’t feel validated. Come September 30th, however, that could all change.
“A win over Canelo will stamp me as one of the greats.”
By Hans Themistode