Undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell ‘Iron Man’ Charlo 35-1-1 (19) expects to have no shortage of challengers when he defeats Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 59-2-2 (39) for his undisputed super middleweight championship at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.
The 33-year-old Texan will be jumping up two full weight classes in his ambitious attempt to lift the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF titles from the long-reigning champ.
That will be easier said than done with Alvarez’s only two defeats coming against a prime Floyd Mayweather Jr when he was just 23 and to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol last year, both on points.
But Houston native Charlo says he is up for the challenge and believes a win will give him the recognition he feels he desparately deserves.
“A win over Canelo will let me know that I am right where I should be,” Charlo said. “And if I need more work to do, then I got more work to do.
“A win over Canelo will stamp me as one of the greats. I take his belts then I have to fight the Mexican Monster [David Benavidez], Caleb Plant and all of the big boys, right? I’m going to have all of them motherfuckers trying to fight me. And I got the short little Omaha fisherman [Terence Crawford] or whatever you want to call him, the net carrier.”
Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 40-0 (31) became the undisputed welterweight champion of the world with a ninth-round knockout of Charlo’s stablemate Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr 28-1 (22) back in July and the bad blood between the pair has been bubbling away ever since.
Omaha, Nebraska’s Crawford, 35, has previously flagged a move up to challenge Alvarez if he successfully defends his crowns against Charlo, who is hoping to throw a spanner in the works.
If Charlo does collect the belts he will become just the second male boxer to claim undisputed status in the four-belt era, joining his rival Crawford and making selling a bout between the pair a breeze.
The main question around Charlo’s ability to win centres on the extra 14-pounds he will be carrying against Alvarez, but he says it won’t be a problem.
“I’m not going to have to worry about losing too much weight,” Charlo said. “I’ve been sparring bigger guys for a very long time and now it’s about bringing that same mindset that I have at 154 pounds and bringing it up with me to 168 pounds,” Charlo said during a recent media workout.
“This is a dream come true, just like winning undisputed, winning a world title and making it out the mud was. Once you get this far and see yourself prospering, you just want to keep bringing it. I’m staying focused on handling business.”
