If ring rust was a factor for Jermall Charlo, he certainly didn’t show it Saturday night.
Competing for the first time since November 2023, the former two-division world champion did his part to set up his grudge match with Caleb Plant, dominating Thomas LaManna while securing knockdowns in three consecutive rounds en route to a doctor’s stoppage between the fifth and sixth rounds at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
Charlo (34-0, 23 KOs) had largely been inactive over the past four years due to a combination of injuries and well-documented battles with substance abuse and mental-health issues, but vowed post-fight that there will be “no more dark places.” He also called out Saturday’s headliner, Plant, with whom he infamously got into a viral scuffle backstage at the Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence weigh-ins in July 2023, with video catching Plant smacking Charlo with a hard open-handed slap to the face.
