When GQ writes about boxing, you know the subject matter is mainstream-friendly. Last August, the men?s style and fashion magazine sported a feature article on the Charlo Twins, Jermall and Jermell, that gave the non-sports fan a quick primer on who these guys were, what they did, and why they mattered enough to be the subject matter of a GQ piece.
There was nothing new or groundbreaking there for the boxing fan. But, to just have them in the magazine that typically only writes about the sport when something big is happening or when someone becomes a crossover star, well, that?s a pretty good sign that someone with stroke, somewhere, believed them to be legitimate ?next big things.?
It would?ve been hard to make an argument against that assessment back when the GQ article was first pitched. Jermell had just blown away highly regarded prospect Erickson Lubin in one round while defending his WBC junior middleweight title and Jermall had made a brutally triumphant middleweight debut against Argentina?s Jorge Sebastian Heiland.
The twins had everything needed for stardom?they looked like stars, had star-level charisma, and boasted elite-level skill and ability.
Nearly one-year after that GQ article, though, Jermall and Jermell are at least a half-step behind where they once were in terms of next-level stardom.
A couple of flat performances since then have hurt their rise to prominence. Jermell looked pedestrian and unmotivated in his December defense against Tony Harrison, losing his title to the tall, off-putting stylist via close and debatable unanimous decision. Jermall, who fought as the main event on the same card, had a few rough patches early on against late replacement southpaw Matt Korobov before settling down and taking a dullish, but decisive unanimous decision.
Neither fight did much to boost their salability and marketability, but there are other reasons behind the Charlo express having pulled over to the side of the road for a bit.
Right before that GQ article went to press, it was revealed that Jermell had been charged with felony domestic violence. Despite being acquitted of those charges in March of this year, a dark enough cloud hung over him for long enough to discourage any possible follow-ups to the GQ piece from other mainstream outlets.
Jermall, meanwhile, found himself done in by his move to middleweight and a shift in the boxing business winds that saw him isolated from big ticket opposition like Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin as well as second tier stars such as Daniel Jacobs, Demetrius Andrade, and Billy Joe Saunders. But with no ?names? to fight, there?s little chance of bolstering his star power and, therefore, little chance of forcing a passing of the torch moment in the division.
Last Sunday, Jermell was supposed to get his shot at vengeance against Tony Harrison in a world title rematch. An ankle injury to the new champ, however, paused Jermell?s drive toward redemption and forced him to take on unorthodox and heavy-handed Mexican Jorge Cota as a late replacement. He did what he was supposed to do against someone like Cota?win via nasty-looking, paramedic-rousing early-rounds KO?but a win over Cota only takes him so far.
This coming Saturday, Jermall headlines his first card in hometown Houston and he?ll be pitted against Contender reality show winner Brandon Adams, who has a bullish inside style that could complicate Charlo?s preference for tall, orderly battle. A dominant win over Adams will help push him forward?a bit?but it probably won?t get him any closer to breakthrough stardom than his brother?s crushing victory over Cota. Without one of the big names on his r?sum?, he?ll be stuck in the Catch-22 reserved for fighters who can?t find next-level challenges because next-level challenges can?t be found.
What this all means is that the Charlo Brothers are exactly where they were right before the mainstream started to poke around to see what they were all about. They aren?t exactly spinning their wheels, but they also aren?t motoring down the road to superstardom, either.
