In anticipation of Saturday night's title fight against former 154-pound champion Austin Trout, we take a look back on a trio of "Iron Man's" most significant fights.
WBC super welterweight world champion Jermell Charlo and twin brother, WBC interim middleweight titleholder Jermall Charlo, have taken over the sport with their highlight-reel knockouts in the last couple of years. While older bro, Jermall, has taken his powerful fists up to 160 pounds and scored back-to-back KOs, Jermell has continued to put the 154-pound division to sleep—scoring stoppages in his last four fights.
This Saturday night, the unbeaten 28-year-old Jermell (30-0, 15 KOs) looks to do something that his brother couldn't—stop former 154-pound titleholder Austin Trout (31-4, 17 KOs) when they meet in a Showtime-televised title tilt (10 pm ET/PT) at Staples Center in LA. In anticipation of the bout, we take a look back on a trio of Jermell's most significant fights.
3 vs John Jackson, May 21, 2016, at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada
While Charlo admits it wasn't his best fight, as he was down on all three judges' scorecards in the eighth round, a stunning right hand, followed by two left hooks provided a knockout of historic proportions—as Jermell won the vacant WBC title and joined Jermall to become the first twins to hold world championships in the same weight division.
"It's history. We did it," Jermell said. "He was boxing. He was moving around a lot. I had to get close. That was unexpected from him. I thought he'd come out to bang. Come out to brawl. So I had to make an adjustment and I did. I started getting closer. When he started settling down, that's when I was able to open him up and catch him with the shot I needed."
2 vs Charles Hatley, April 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
Charlo dropped Hatley in the third round before finishing him off in the sixth to retain his world championship at Barclays Center.
The knockout was sensational as Charlo punctuated a barrage of blows with a head-swiveling right hand that landed as Hatley missed with a left. The challenger fell face-first to the canvas and was out cold beneath the bottom rope on the ring apron as referee Harvey Dock immediately waved an end to the fight 32 seconds into Round 6
“I used that jab to set up the right hand,” said Charlo, 26, of Houston. “I knew Charles Hatley goes down and he gets back up—he’s a warrior—and I knew I had to get in there and be a lion.”
Charlo showed more power than he had in previous fights as he put the rest of the 154-pound division on notice, and looked forward to a possible title unification against recently crowned champion Jarrett Hurd, who earned the title that Charlo’s twin brother, Jermall, vacated earlier this year to move up to 160.
“I’m the champ, so I have to continue to fight my mandatory,” Jermell Charlo said. “They got a guy named Jarret Hurd that took my brother’s title—we could unify.”
1 vs Erickson Lubin, October 14, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
No one saw it coming. It was fast, devastating and shocking. If you blinked, you missed it. Charlo slugged Erickson Lubin (18-1, 13 KOs) with unbelievable torque, leaving the highly regarded contender in a heap on the canvas at 2:41 of the first round. Referee Harvey Dock never bothered counting.
Entering the fight, some thought Lubin was taking too big of a step in fighting someone as experienced in Charlo. Maybe it was. Lubin moved to his left trying to move from a Charlo left jab. Consequently, Lubin was down and bent over when disaster struck in the form of a Charlo right uppercut.
Lubin immediately fell. Dock looked down and waved it over. The fight was over.
“They were giving him a lot of attention,” Charlo said. “I was quiet the whole time. They said they were going to come take my title. I had to defend it. They didn't know what I was brining into this and I think (Lubin) was worried about the wrong things."
- Topics
- Greatest hits
- Jermell Charlo
