Have Yourself a Very Charlo Christmas

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By Brian “The Beret” Young

Christmas comes a few days early this year for boxing fans when The Charlo brothers, Jermall and Jermell, co-headline the first major fight card where they are the star attractions. The polarizing twins from Houston bring their skills, their controversy and their undefeated records (combined record of 58-0, 36 KO’s) to The Barclays Center in Brooklyn New York on December 22nd (8:00pm on the FOX Network in the USA) for what they hope will be the next step towards superstardom.

Jermall Charlo, 27-0, 21KO’s, thanks to wining a coin flip, will face Rochester New York’s Willie Monroe, JR., 26-3, 6 KO’s in the headlining fight. Younger brother Jermell (younger by 1 full minute) 31-0, 15 KO’s will engage in what appears on paper to be the far more entertaining fight when he faces Detroit Michigan’s Tony Harrison, 27-2, 21 KO’s.

Tony Harrison, coming off an impressive split decision win over Ishe Smith in May, is the bigger man at 6 feet 1 inch and some believe the better puncher, but his perceived questionable chin appears to be standing in the way of him being a serious threat to the defending WBC Jr. Middleweight Champion by odds makers. Harrison commented “We’re both very competitive and that defines us as fighters, so I believe that’s going to add up to make this a truly explosive fight”. But explosive is the last thing Harrison should want. His best bet is to use his experience to try and outsmart and outbox the younger, faster, hungrier Champion who stated “Me and Tony Harrison are coming to fight. It’s going to be two strong explosive guys leaving it all out there”. And Jermell better leave it all out there, he needs to be the explosive and exciting fighter he has proven he can be. This is his moment to shine and he needs to take advantage, make the boxing world take notice, and the national TV exposure in prime time is exactly where he can make that happen.

Willie Monroe, JR. 26-3, 6 KO’s for his part has a much more formidable challenge in front of him in Jermall when they face off for the WBC interim Middleweight title and he knows this may be his last chance at a world title having failed in two previous attempts suffering a 6th round TKO to GGG for the WBA, IBO and Interim WBC middleweight titles back in 2015 and dropping a unanimous decision to Billy Joe Saunders last September for the WBO middleweight strap. “I’m Glad that Jermall took this fight” Monroe said at the press conference announcing his challenge “He was commentating my last fight and I knew then that this was a fight I definitely wanted a lot. I’m going to make the most of it and leave no doubt that I deserved this chance in the first place”. Its clear Jermall sees this fight as just a stepping stone stating, “He’s faced the fighters that I want to get in there with, so I see this as an opportunity to measure myself against their performance”

Also on the card is what could end up being a show stealer, an intriguing Heavyweight matchup between USA’s Dominic Breazeale, 19-1, 17 KO’s and Puerto Rico’s Carlos Negron, 20-1, 16 KO’s. Negron coming in with a 7 fight win streak all coming by knockout looks to upset the #7 ranked Breazeale who is trying to position himself for a shot at Deontay Wilder’s WBC Belt. This is the kind of fight that has the potential to be an all-out slugfest and could whip the crowd into a frenzy before the Charlo show

The Brothers Charlo have worked hard to gain the respect of the boxing world but are often criticized for their outspoken and often outlandish behavior outside of the ring. From an arrest for an alleged attack on a girlfriend to the nonstop trash talk on social media, and their GQ photo shoot, the brothers have become “a love em’ or hate em’’” attraction in the sport. Nobody denies their talent, but their choice of opponents and their demanding of bigger purses while never having been the top of a card has been a constant issue with fans. Now on Dec 22nd they have the chance to show the world what they have been bragging about for years, they deserve to be the headliners, the top men, and the superstars they claim to be. And sitting ringside will be the man they may have to put up or shut up with, the IBF/WBA/IBO Jr. Middleweight champion Swift Jarrett Hurd, who will defend his titles against England’s Jason Welborn on the Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury undercard December 1st.

Hurd has been calling out Jermell on social media and anywhere else he has a platform. These taunts have appeared to work as Jermell has publicly stated he wants to fight Hurd yet for one reason or another the fight has yet to materialize. On December 22nd you can bet Swift will do everything he can to get his two cents, and more than likely, taunts in to try to get a unification bout set for early 2019.

Jermall on the other hand can have his pick of top Middleweights in the talent rich division. Daniel Jacobs, Billy Joe Saunders, or even Sergiy Derevyanchenko, who lost a split decision in an amazing fight with Jacobs, would all be serious tests for Jermall, ones the boxing fans would love to see. They are all fights that could be made with little difficulty if he is willing to agree to them. From there Charlo could be on a collision course with the Holy Grail, a chance at Canelo or GGG, both of which would guarantee a mega payday and give the outspoken Texan a chance to be what he claims he is, the best Middleweight in the world.

If all goes according to plan, December 22nd 2018 could turn out to be the first of many nights where the exciting and talented Charlo twins top the bill on major fight cards, and that is a wonderful Christmas gift to give us. Let’s hope the Charlo’s New Year’s resolution is to give Jarrett Hurd, this writer and boxing fans all across the globe the fights they want to see in 2019.

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