Alvarez vs. Charlo Preview
The undisputed super middleweight championship will be on the line at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, September 30. Champion Canelo Alvarez will defend the title against undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo. This will be the first time that two undisputed champs face each other in boxing history.
Alvarez is defending the undisputed championship for the third time after unanimous decision wins over Gennady Golovkin and John Ryder. He is the only undisputed super middleweight champion in boxing history. The Mexican fighter has held multiple titles in four different weight classes and has been one of the top three pound for pound fighters in the world over the last six years.
The 33-year-old is now tasked with a new challenge in facing a fighter who is trying to take the leap up in weight class and prove to the rest of the world he is the best pound for pound fighter, much like Alvarez did back in 2018 in two fights with Golovkin.
The champion is ready for a great performance on Saturday. “I feel confident, I feel 100%, and that makes me feel happy, and it makes me feel confident,” said Alvarez.
Charlo has stated that Alvarez has never fought a fighter like him, but the champion responded by saying, “I’m thinking in my mind that I fought against every style, every great fighter out there. So what does he mean that I haven’t been in the ring with a fighter like him,” said Canelo.
While Alvarez has achieved more than most boxers dream of, he still has his critics. Ahead of this fight, the pundits are saying he has lost a step. Canelo responded by saying, "I feel fresh. I feel in my prime.”
While winning his last fight against Ryder, he was criticized for his performance. "I had a little injury on my hand [that was] slowing me down a little bit, but you will see Saturday night," Canelo said.
Alvarez does not take any opponent for granted. “When you love what you do, that’s what it’s all about. He’s a great fighter. It’s not for nothing that he’s undisputed champion at 154,” said Canelo about Jermell. “Now I have the opportunity to show him why I’m at the top.
“He knows how to box, he’s strong, he counter-punches fast. He has a lot of ability, but I’ve been in the ring with all kinds of fighters, and I’m ready for this. “He has a lot of good wins. Harrison, Castano. No, nobody,” said Canelo when asked if any of the fighters that Jermell has fought are similar to him.
“They have confidence and enthusiasm to win. I know. I’ve been against a lot of motivated fighters, but when they step in the ring, and they start feeling, it’s difficult.”
With a win over Charlo, an honest question for Alvarez would be, what else is there to do? He will likely be driven by his critics until he retires. These are the people who believe he did not defeat Golovkin in their first two fights, he defeated an old Sergey Kovalev, and he had too many excuses for the loss to Dmitry Bivol. With the criticism aside, Alvarez will go down as one of the greatest boxers of all-time.
Aside from Golovkin, he has key victories over Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders, Sergey Kovalev, Daniel Jacobs, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Liam Smith, Amir Khan, Miguel Cotto, Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout, Josesito Lopez, Shane Mosley, Kermit Cintron and Alfonso Gomez.
Charlo is coming off a 10th round KO of Brian Castano in May for his third straight defense of the unified junior middleweight belts. The win was a big rebound after his first fight with Castano was ruled a split draw. He will now be taking the biggest step up in a challenge he can take in a fight with Alvarez.
The 33-year-old is embracing the moment.
“I mean, it feels amazing to be able to go into a fight as historical as this. I love the sport of boxing, and for me to be able to be a part of a fight where two undisputed fighters, which has never happened in the sport of boxing, against such a large and dynamic opponent as Canelo, it feels amazing. It feels great. It feels-- it's awesome. It's super because I'm a part of such an event,” said Charlo.
He continued, “I knew that one day eventually, that I would have my opportunity. Maybe I could have been the main super attraction, or star. But it has to start from someone that's at the top, or someone like the Mayweathers and the big guys in the boxing world. So you know, I can't question God in his timing, and everything happens for a reason. And the star's in the making.”
Jermell has agreed to take this fight in place of his twin brother Jermall who is the WBC middleweight champion. While a fight between Jermall Charlo and Alvarez was much anticipated, Jermell will be stepping in to take the fight while his brother deals with personal issues.
While Charlo has used trash talk in the past to get into his opponents heads, he knows that will not work with a decorated champion like Alvarez. "I don't need to trash talk or do all that," Jermell Charlo said. "I wish that I never would've presented such a negative or bad energy but this is just who I am. I am going to give you all what it is. If you piss me off, I'm going to give you the attitude. [But] you can't care about what some other somebody else says. If you focus more on that, you won't be able to do your job.”
The champion believes he will be a different fighter against Alvarez.
"I just have it in me," Jermell told CBS Sports. "It was built in me and instilled in me. I grew with this and I have a fire in me so I just need to keep that thing lit. I hope you all are peeping the maturity that I have been through and the lessons of life that taught me that I'm growing and learning as a man, now. And growing as a man has put me in position to fight Canelo.
"Y'all are going to see that, dang, we underestimated Jermell Charlo. I like when I got haters and doubters and people that don't really know me yet. They don't really know how hard I hit because they haven't been in the ring with me yet. Hopefully, after the fight, Canelo can let you all know that I'm one of the most dangerous fighters he has fought.”
To date, Castano is Charlo’s biggest victory but a win over Alvarez would shake up the boxing world. He could become just the second male boxer in history to unify two weight classes. Terence Crawford became the first with his victory over Errol Spence Jr. in July.
The fight can be seen on DAZN PPV.
