Jermell Charlo is back: looking for a high-profile fight at 154

Jermell Charlo is emerging from his 15-month hibernation phase. He asks PBC to fight the “best” they have at 154.

“Make it make sense”

They have no one at this weight to look at against former undisputed junior middleweight champion Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs). He says, “Make it make sense,” which is code for Jermell’s desire for a massive payday for his return. That ship sailed a long time ago.

Jermell probably wants to receive enough wealth to buy the Beverly Hillbillies mansion in Bel Air, California.

That doesn’t seem likely unless Turki Alashikh wants to use it for one of his power cards. Serhiy Bohachuk. That would be fun to watch.

It’s too late for Jermell to fight Terence Crawford. He’s hunting big game and trying to get a golden parachute retirement day against Canelo Alvarez. He won’t waste his time with a fighter who has no ambition and has been sitting on his couch for 15 months.

Charlo may have burned his bridges with his lack of effort against Canelo Alvarez last time out, destroying what little popularity he still had after sitting on the shelf for over a year.

Jermell received an estimated $20 million payday in that fight, which might explain why fans haven’t seen him hide a hair since.

PBC may be able to negotiate a fight for Jermell against the newly crowned IBF 154-pound champion Bakram Murtazaliev. However, Charlo, 34, never showed interest in fighting Murtazaliev when it was his IBF mandatory, so it’s hard to see him agreeing to fight him now. If Charlo wants the fastest path to a world title. Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) would be the guy.

Charlo’s demands

“Premier Boxing, give me the best you have, or whoever you think can take me to 154. Let the fans choose. Only lions. Make it meaningful,” Jermell Charlo said on social media.

It would be brave of Charlo to challenge the undefeated Murtazaliev for his IBF belt, but that probably isn’t happening. This guy is too good.

Murtazaliev destroyed former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu by third-round knockout on October 19, dropping him four times in the fight. If he could do that against an active and still young Tszyu, you could only imagine what Murtazaliev would do to rusty old Jermell.

Jermell looked awful in his one-sided 12-round unanimous decision loss to Canelo Alvarez 15 months ago on September 30, 2023. Charlo didn’t even look like he was trying to win the fight as he moved around the ring, playing it safe for 12 years rounds Many boxing fans believe that Jermell came for the payday and never intended to try to win.

The fact that Jermell hasn’t wrestled since that loss further adds to the belief that it was always about the money for him.