Jermall Charlo has outlined his preferred next opponents after his upcoming fight with Jose Benavidez Jr. on November 25th, 2023.
Charlo will have his first fight since 2021 when he beat Juan Macias Montiel. Since then, the WBC middleweight champion has been inactive due to struggles with mental health. Prior to this fight, Charlo had been linked with facing Canelo Alvarez. However, the turnaround time was not enough, as Charlo’s brother, Jermell Charlo, took the fight.
And yet, Jermall is fighting on a big stage as a co-main event attraction on the David Benavidez vs. Demetrious Andrade card. The champion will be expected to win since he is fighting a 154-pounder at a contracted weight of 163 pounds. Not only that but since Charlo’s WBC belt is not on the line, the pressure will be off somewhat. With that being said, Jermall outlined his future plans.
“It would make more sense to fight a champion like Benavidez, Andrade or Canelo,. Patience put me in the position where I can pick & choose. It’s going to be great fights from here on out. Benavidez beat Plant, so I feel that Andrade can beat Plant too. I’m not worried about Plant as much as the disrespect part. I could always run up on him and get my lick back. It’s still a win-win for me,” Charlo
A fight with Canelo may not prove popular, given the ease with which the Mexican beat Jermell, who was moving up from 154 pounds. While Jermall is bigger since he fights at 160, the calls on Canelo to face a fully-fledged 168-pounder have been increasing. However, a fight with Andrade or Plant could make sense.
The former is currently undefeated and targeting the biggest fights out there. Meanwhile, there is plenty of history with the latter. Following the Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford weigh-in, Plant infamously slapped Charlo on the basis the fighter had disrespected him in front of his wife and pulled his beard.
Nevertheless, the WBC has confirmed that they will be ordering the winner of Charlo-Benavidez Jr. to face Carlos Adames. The latter has been the WBC mandatory for more than two years as the boxer has been on the sidelines, waiting for his title shot due to Charlo’s mental health struggles. But rather than strip Charlo, the WBC stood by the fighter during his struggles. But now Adames will get his shot at the title, putting more pressure on Charlo to perform.
WBC will be ordering Jermall Charlo vs. Carlos Adames after Jermall's fight with Jose Benavidez. 🚨
— Grey from Boxrec dot Com (@BoxrecGrey) November 15, 2023
So, moving forward, Charlo could be in some big fights, depending on the result of the Benavidez Jr. bout.