Jermall Charlo Announces That His Ring Return Will Be In June

Jermall Charlo has announced that he will be back in action in June to put his WBC middleweight championship title on the line.

The American was last in the ring on June 19th, 2021, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, where he went the full 12-round distance to win a unanimous decision over Juan Macias Montiel, in a fight that proved to be more difficult than many had predicted.

While no official announcement has been made regarding who he will be facing this time around, it’s expected to be a lesser-known competitor considering his two-year hiatus.

During the course of that process, Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) deprived many contenders the opportunity to fight for the belt. The WBC ended up making them wait two years for the champion, Charlo, to defend his title. They arguably could have stripped Charlo.

Jermall Charlo: I Needed Some Time Away; Back In My Bag, Defending My WBC Title In June https://t.co/YV3OcECaAB pic.twitter.com/1qs2Dj2VVl

— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) February 13, 2023

But now that the dust has settled, this is what Charlo had to say: “I needed time away from the sport. Back in my bag. I’ll be defending my WBC title in June. Sorry for the wait.”

Who Could Charlo Face?

Prior to Charlo becoming inactive, he was intending to defend his WBC championship title against Maciej Suleki. If Jermall opts to proceed with the Sulecki fight, he will face a strong backlash from boxing fans because the 33-year-old Polish fighter has not been active since 2021. 

However, another option could be Tony Harrison or Tim Tszyu. The pair are going to meet in Sydney, Australia, in March, to battle it out for the Interim WBO 154-pound title. 

Tszyu had been on course to face Charlo on January 28th, 2023, but those plans were disrupted as the latter broke his hand in training.

Meanwhile, Harrison (29-3-1, 21 KOs) was victorious over Charlo in 2018, though he was defeated in their second confrontation a year later with an 11th-round TKO.

Therefore, the victor will be in prime position to face Charlo.