Charlo reflects on one-sided loss, gives 168 king Canelo credit
Junior middleweight champion plans to return to natural division
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LAS VEGAS — Jermell Charlo knew it had been a rough night challenging undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Charlo, the undisputed junior middleweight champion, who moved up 14 pounds and two weight classes for the shot at the history of becoming a two-division undisputed champion at the same time, lost virtually every round in a one-sided blowout Saturday night in a Showtime PPV main event at T-Mobile Arena.
Asked at his post-fight news conference about the fact that he was never able to find any rhythm or get into the fight at all, Charlo sheepishly smiled.
“I didn’t. It sucks,” he said in a matter of fact manner. “I never got to a point where I can make the fight more and put a little bit of pressure on him.”
Indeed, Alvarez walked forward, did as he pleased, dropped Charlo for the second time in his career in the seventh round and won going away — 119-108, 118-109 and 118-109 — to make his sixth 168-pound title defense and third of the undisputed crown, a record, as no male fighter in the four-belt era had ever made more than two undisputed title defenses.
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Charlo talked a big game going into the fight, as he always has before his bouts, but after such a one-sided non-competitive loss, he was nothing but complimentary of Alvarez.
“Canelo’s a motherfucking beast,” Charlo said. “He’s an ox. You know, maybe I felt that more because of the fact that this was my first time at that weight division. I wish I coulda gained a little bit more weight in between the weigh-in to that time (of the fight). But I can’t control my body. God has this already written. And, you know, I’m glad that I was in there to put on a performance for Showtime Pay-Per-View.”
Going into the fight, Alvarez said he was motivated in part by his perception that Charlo did not respect his boxing skills. After the fight, Charlo gave Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs), 33, of Mexico, credit for his ability to shut him down.
“I felt like I could have done a lot more than I did,” Charlo said. “I’ve seen skills. He has some great skills in the ring. You got to give it to him. I don’t even know that last time I talked about his skills. That’s just something he needed to motivate him. So be it. We here to fight. Did I not believe in his skills? Shit, I don’t know. I don’t believe in nobody’s skills.”
Alvarez’s biggest moment was the knockdown in the seventh round, when he landed right hand high on Charlo’s head, near his temple, which badly wobbled him. He followed with an immediate right uppercut that sent a dazed Charlo to the mat, although he rose quickly.
“It was like a shot I didn’t seed,” Charlo said. “I regrouped myself and I thought now we got to go back and win the next few rounds. I could have been more aggressive, honestly.”
He admitted that he felt Alvarez’s power on the knockdown.
“Yeah, you know, that was like my true first time feeling, you know, like a woozy shot,” Charlo said. “You know what I mean? Like I’m the one always giving ‘em. And so yeah, I knew best. I watch boxing, been a part of it so long that if I woulda just jumped out there I’d have kinda embarrassed myself.
“So, shit coulda been different. But I was smart enough to regroup, recover and I recovered really fast. Probably coulda stayed up or whatever, but I’d have just been fighting, trying to clear my head and still woulda been getting hit with shots.
“I was good. I get back up. That’s what we do. You get back up and continue to fight.”
Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs), 33, of Houston, came into the fight off a 16-month layoff because he fractured his left hand in two places in December, forcing him to postpone a mandatory defense against Tim Tszyu scheduled for Jan. 28 and ultimately canceled when he got the bigger opportunity to fight Alvarez.
Although he showed no issues with the hand, Charlo fought tentatively throughout the fight, spent a lot of time backing up and holding and took many punishing shots, especially to the body from an Alvarez who looked rejuvenated after tepid recent performances he attributed a bothersome left hand/wrist that he had surgery on last year.
Still, Charlo said he did not regret taking the fight, which paid him into the eight figures, a career best by a mile.
“I’m proud of myself,” he said. “Took a chance, jumped out there strong, right off a hand injury, jumped up there with the best, one of the best guys in the division, one of the best guys in boxing. So, my head is held high. I am proud of myself. I’ve done an awesome job for (my) ‘Lions Only’ (brand) and my crew and my team. And I love boxing, so I’m not going nowhere.”
He reiterated at the news conference what he said in the ring after the bout — that he will return to junior middleweight to defend his three remaining belts, since he was stripped by the WBO and interim titlist Tszyu elevated when the bell rang. He added that in a perfect world he would like to defend against undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford.
“I’m going back to down to 154,” Charlo said. “So, that’s gonna be major. I can do it. Yeah, I can make the weight easy.”
Give the new episode a listen as we break down the Canelo-Charlo PPV card, the seemingly impending demise of Showtime Boxing and much more.
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Canelo-Charlo photo: Esther Lin/Showtime
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Charlo better stay away from tszyu or he will get beaten again
After watching Charlo's disgraceful effort against Canelo, I have much more appreciation for Spence's loosing effort against Crawford. Charlo, essentially laid down his gloves at the start of the fight, while Spence fought to the bitter end. Spence may have been outgunned by Crawford, but that didn't stop him from throwing everything he had. Spence displayed the heart of the Lion, while Charlo seemed more like the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz.