On Canelo-JCJR: “I hope they meet in the middle of the ring and throw right hands and knock each other out at the same time!”
GL: What’s the latest and greatest? When can we expect to see you back in action? Now that my brother has fought I’m trying to get my next move locked in. I’ve been working hard in training, I’m just waiting for the date. GL: Do you have a target? Is it going to June, July? Maybe late May, let’s put it like that. I’m already ready. We’ve got late May, early June, late June. It doesn’t matter, it’s going to happen when it’s supposed to. We’re going to take our time and let the division play out the way it’s going to be.
GL: What did you think about your brother’s recent performance?
Jermall Charlo: “I was in corner, he listened to me and he did everything I told him to do. It was a great performance and now it’s on to the next step for him. That was the Jermell Charlo that knocked out Denis Douglin, the old Jermell Charlo is back. There isn’t going to be any more discrepancy over who has more power or speed no more. Now they can see that we’re both on the same level and we’re hard fighters to fight.”
GL: Jermell has expressed interest in fighting Jarrett Hurd for the belt you once held. Do you think that fight will come to fruition?
JC: “I doubt it happens. First off those sanctionings with the WBC and IBF sometimes they clash. To top that off, Jarrett probably knows that Jermell will knock him completely out. I doubt the fight happens right now.”
GL: It’s been a little while since we’ve talked, so what did you think about the Golovkin-Jacobs fight?
JC: “It was a good fight. It was a real technical fight. Danny Jacobs did a good job of neutralizing the power which brought the fight closer. Golovkin is a power fighter and he has no other outlet. It was a great fight for Danny win lose or draw, it was a hard fought fight. I don’t know man, I’d like the fact they fought each other, seeing the top elite fighters in my division fight each other gave me something to look at. You let the rabbit run the race though, that’s what it’s about right now.”
GL: Prior to his last two fights Golovkin was looking like a straight up monster. Against Kell Brook he was outboxed for a couple of rounds and as you said Jacobs was able to neutralize Golovkin. Do you think he has been exposed a bit?
JC: “No. I like to look at him as that dominant beast that he is. I don’t know if it’s a good thing that he got exposed a little bit, but every fight is different. He had to fight Kell Brook a lot different than he had to fight Danny Jacobs, and he’s going to have to do a lot more against somebody like myself. Every fight is different, but I’m looking at him like the beast he is. I can’t take anything away from him and that’s something that a lot of fighters try to do. They try to take away from what the fighter did in the last fight, but it’s going to be a totally different fight when he fights you. I look at it as both of those guys remain in their prime and they’re at their best and they’re peaking out.”
GL: So it’s important for you to look at it that way because if you end up fighting them down the line you don’t want to go into it thinking they’re vulnerable.
JC: “Yes. I can’t look at it like, oh he’s starting to get him more. Nah, we always look at the fight always being their best fight. But he’s not going to make those mistakes with me. I’m going to have to fight that Golovkin that showed up that night. I can’t look at him like he’s vulnerable to get hit with certain shots, he’s the champion of the world and he’s one of the hardest hitting ever in boxing. You got to look at it like that, you can’t go into it thinking he’s going to be weak, he’s not. He’s the best in the world.”
GL: Who do you like in Canelo-Chavez?
JC: “I hope they meet in the middle of the ring and both throw right hands and knock each other out at the same time. I don’t give a shit who wins that fight.”
GL: Will you middleweight debut take place against a bona fide contender?
JC: “Right now I’m #2 in the WBC, I’m trying to fight the eliminator to be ranked #1 so I can become the mandatory to fight for the title. That’s what I’m on right now, I’m trying to take over so I’m going to have to take chances and risks that a lot of fighters my age, who I been where I have and I’ve got a lot more to lose just by not having a belt at 160. I’ve got to knock on the door really hard and that’s what I’m doing.”
GL: Can you descibe some of the differences in training for a middleweight fight compared to 154?
JC: “The only thing I’m going to tell you is I haven’t fought as a middleweight yet, so I don’t know what those extra six pounds are going to do for me. Of course, I’m going to make it, but will that make me lazier? Will that make me stronger? We’ll have to wait and see. I’m expecting to be hitting these guys with an extra 600 lbs of pressure, I’m just willing to go in there with the best. I’m the guy coming up from 154 so they’re all going to think that I’m smaller so it’s going to be a different fight, they’re going to try to bully me. I’m the little guy now.”
GL: Shit, you were a ginormous 154.
JC: “I’m going to be an even bigger 160!”
GL: Has your walking around weight changed at all?
JC: “It hasn’t and that has me kind of upset, but it’s getting there though that’s for sure.”
GL: Is there anything you’d like to say in closing?
JC: “Honestly, the scoop is Jermall Charlo is in camp he’s training hard. He’s training to be the best ever, I’ve got another belt I want to get at 160 and I’m willing to go all out for it. This is no disrespect to anybody in boxing, we all train hard, we all fight hard. We all grind for that one objective, but I’m here and I’m going to stay here. I want to stay on top, I’m only getting older and wiser so keep it locked man because I’m here.”
