“I’ll go to 168,” Jermall Charlo eyes ambitious jump in weight to take down David Benavidez after beating latter’s brother

WBC champion Jermall Charlo reveals his thoughts on David Benavidez vs. Demetrius Andrade and reveals interest in taking on Benavidez.

“I’ll go to 168,” Jermall Charlo eyes ambitious jump in weight to take down David Benavidez after beating latter’s brother

Jermall Charlo wants to fight David Benavidez after defeating his brother (via Instagram)

Jermall Charlo expressed a lack of enthusiasm regarding David Benavidez‘s stoppage of Demetrius Andrade. Fans and pundits heaped praise on Benavidez for impressively stopping Andrade. However, Charlo stated that he was not impressed by him.

Charlo also said he remains interested in taking on David Benavidez if the WBC middleweight champion remains in the 168-pound division. In his post-fight press conference, Charlo stated: 

If I gotta go to 168, I’ll go to 168 and fight for this interim belt that he just won or he just defended tonight. Like I’m down for whatever.
Jermall Charlo on fighting David Benavidez
YouTube video

This reaction came after David Benavidez’s sensational performance. He stopped Demetrius Andrade in six rounds and remained unbeaten. However, Charlo added a different perspective to the bout. He indicated that while Benavidez performed well, he may not have met Charlo’s high standards for being highly impressed.

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Jermall Charlo, as a professional boxer, holds an undefeated record of 32 wins and 0 losses. He has won world championships in two weight classes and is the current WBC middleweight champion. His last fight was a 12-round unanimous decision victory over Juan Macias Montiel on June 19, 2021, before taking on Jose Benavidez Jr. Charlo has won 22 of his fights by knockout.

Jermall Charlo wins against Jose Benavidez Jr. in WBC special event

Jermall Charlo and Jose Benavidez Jr. fought in a 10-round non-title WBC special event. The duo fought in the main card of Benavidez vs. Andrade boxing event. Interestingly, Jose Benavidez Jr. is David Benavidez’s elder brother.

Jermall Charlo Jose Benavidez Jr.
Jermall Charlo vs. Jose Benavidez Jr. ( Image via X )

Jermall Charlo won the fight by a one-sided decision. Charlo outclassed Benavidez Jr. to win a one-sided decision in his first fight after over two years of layoff. Charlo’s WBC middleweight title was not on the line in this fight. The contractual weight for the fight was set at 163 pounds, three pounds above the middleweight limit.

This led to accusations that Charlo was making excuses to avoid making the championship weight. Charlo had not fought for over two years before this fight. Jermall Charlo suffered a severe mental episode that caused his career to stall.

Charlo faced mental health battles as well as alcohol and substance abuse issues during this time. In an interview with the New York Post, Charlo opened up about his hiatus and said that he had to start getting help to deal with depression, self-conflation, and other disorders. He also revealed that he had been dealing with alcohol and substance abuse issues. Nevertheless, he returned with a bang and looked set to fight more regularly.

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