Jermell Charlo felt the power of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez when he moved up two weight divisions to face him last September. Charlo, who jumped from super-welterweight to super-middleweight, called Canelo "a motherf***ing beast" after their fight.
The bout came about after Jermell’s twin brother Jermall couldn’t make the jump from 160 to 168 pounds due to inactivity. ‘Little’ Charlo, who wasn’t very active himself and had only lost once before, took the challenge instead.
Canelo outboxed and outclassed Charlo throughout the fight. In the seventh round, he scored a knockdown but couldn’t finish the job. The Mexican star hasn’t had an early finish since his TKO win over Caleb Plant in 2021.
After the fight, Charlo explained how the weight difference affected him: "Maybe I felt that more because it was my first time at this weight division. I wish I could’ve gained a little bit more weight, but I can’t control my body like that. God had this already written, and I’m glad I was in there to put on this performance for Showtime pay-per-view."
Charlo also talked about the knockdown, saying it was the first time he felt "woozy" from a punch: "Yeah, that was my true first time feeling a woozy shot. I’m the one always giving them. I knew best, I watch boxing and I’ve been a part of it so long, if I would’ve just jumped out there I could’ve embarrassed myself or s**t could’ve been different. I was smart enough to regroup, recover, and I recovered really fast. I probably could’ve stayed up or whatever but I would’ve just been fighting trying to clear my head."
Terence Crawford, who recently moved up to super-welterweight, wants to make the same jump to face Canelo. Some in the boxing world think it’s too much even for Crawford’s skills. Based on his experience, Charlo would likely agree.
Jermell Charlo hasn’t stepped into the ring since his bout with Canelo. The fight showed just how tough it can be to move up multiple weight classes, even for top-tier fighters.
