Born one minute apart from his twin, Jermall Charlo calls the yearning to match or exceed his brother Jermell “a mirror motivation.”
“He motivated me to feel I had to make it,” the Houston native told The Athletic last week. “My brother signed with a powerful promoter from the beginning, and I was trying to be the best I could be. It took me some distance and different obstacles to become who I am and separate from who he is, to let people know we’re both the best in the world.”
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Saturday, on a first-of-its-kind Showtime pay-per-view doubleheader, Jermall Charlo (30-0, 22 KOs) headlines the opening of a three-fight card by defending his WBC middleweight title against Ukraine’s Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KOs).
Jermell Charlo (33-1, 17 KOs), the WBC light middleweight champion, heads the nightcap in a three-belt unification against IBF and WBA champion Jeison Rosario (20-1-1, 14 KOs).
Placed together again after historically claiming 154-pound belts on the same May 2016 night in Las Vegas, the Charlos aren’t easy to separate or distinguish, but the question begs to be answered:
Which Charlo is better?
“I don’t know. He’s just as good as me,” Jermall said. “The decision is upon you to decide what you love most about a fighter.”
Jermall believes Jermell “will never be able to throw an uppercut like me.” Jermell, meanwhile, gives his brother credit for “being a better bully … the pressure he puts on you can take the air out of you.”
“But I’m more of a good mover, with different finesse and style,” Jermell added. “We’re twins with the same DNA, but I learned different things, and our favorite fighters back in the day were not the same. Some of the things he implemented, I implemented differently. He packs a bigger punch because he’s bigger, but my head and body movement (is better). God gave it to both of us.”
In an effort to root out the slim divide, The Athletic spoke to several veteran fight observers — matchmakers, trainers and broadcasters — to assess the upside and downside of each Charlo. Which one has more potential to take this first pay-per-view headlining appearance and make it a bridge to becoming that rare, elite prizefighter who magnetizes the fan base?
The case for Jermell
The debate is “very interesting, very close,” one veteran matchmaker said. “I like Jermall better because he holds in and handles his emotions better. He’s just a better overall fighter.”
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That claim on Jermell’s emotion applies mostly to how he responded to the chiding of veteran Tony Harrison, the tough-talking Detroit product who verbally penetrated and then upset Charlo on the scorecards in December 2018. Harrison then kept hammering and flustering him throughout the promotion of their December rematch.
“(Jermell) gets so carried away at times … Harrison played him mentally, in the first and second fight, and it got him out of his game plan,” the matchmaker said. “I don’t give a crap what those judges had. Tony Harrison was beating him in that second fight. Handily. Anyone who knows boxing could’ve told you after 10 rounds, Tony Harrison had won at least seven rounds. Easy!”
Yet Jermell’s ability to harness that emotion is also paramount because he rallied from the trouble and stopped Harrison in the 11th round to recapture his belt.
“People mistake his emotion for passion and don’t realize that he wouldn’t be as great without that passion,” Charlo trainer Derrick James said. “Him coming back, that was passion. He’s not down in the corner. He believes in what we work on. He believes in himself. He believes in me. And that’s the strongest thing about him. So that actually takes emotion out of it.”
Jermell Charlo defeated Tony Harrison for the WBC super welterweight belt in their rematch last December in Ontario, Calif. (Meg Oliphant / Getty Images)A veteran trainer who watched Charlo-Harrison II from ringside said, “There was emotion against Harrison, you’re right. But that was his best fight. Jermell came out with emotion, and by the middle rounds, Derrick had to coach him out of that, to get him to keep throwing punches and bring him back.
“And then in the last rounds, after too many wide shots in the beginning, Jermell was throwing pinpoint-accurate punches. Think of all those shots he landed to end it — those three uppercuts in a row, the straight 1-2. He got out of his own way to do what they worked on. He got through some fatigue and got to being 100 percent in tune. It was the most trying, but his best fight — them getting him through his past and his excitement.”
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Against Rosario, Jermell Charlo will confront a five-years-younger, power-hitting Dominican who took out former two-belt champion Julian Williams with a fifth-round TKO on Jan. 18.
“I like the fact this fighter can fight, comes forward and has power and is five years younger,” said Charlo, 30. “I pack a massive punch as well. There’s so many things he does that I do better. The only way I can prove it is get in the ring and do it.”
A matchmaker foresees a resounding victory by Jermell Charlo.
“There’s an opportunity to expose Jermell, but Harrison couldn’t finish it because he’s not a big puncher and doesn’t take a shot, and I’m not saying Rosario is the guy who can expose him, either, because Rosario isn’t that kind of boxer,” the matchmaker said. “He doesn’t set things up well with the jab. He’s a better puncher, but you can’t just go in there with bombs away against Jermell Charlo. You have to be scientific, set things up with the jab and be smart.
“If Jermell beats Rosario convincingly — and I think he will because I see Rosario as a one-dimensional kind of guy — then Jermell is the man in the division. No question about it.”
The intrigue of Charlo-Rosario, says a veteran trainer, lies in whether Jermell will be lured into a slugfest and compromise his chances.
“I would like to see him box more and not try to knock everyone out. He has so many skills,” the trainer said. “Every fighter loves knockouts, and that’s the nature of the sport, but if he jabbed more and set his punches up, he could win fights and stay in the sport even longer.”
There’s ample reason to pace himself, then.
The 154-pound crowd includes one other champion, new WBO belt-wearer Patrick Texiera, along with a deep pool of contenders in the Premier Boxing Champions stable. This includes secondary WBA champion Erislandy Lara, former two-belt champions Williams and Jarrett Hurd, Harrison and WBC mandatory Erickson Lubin, whom Charlo finished by first-round knockout in 2017.
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“From when we first spoke, this is the grand plan he wanted: to be the guy who is the best 154-pounder in the world,” said a Charlo confidant. “He truly believes in himself, and that belief is a super power. What you see in the fights is him being himself, this desire to will himself. These fights will cement him not only as the best 154-pounder in the world but as one of the best fighters in the world.”
Said Jermell: “I see, know and am aware of my situations, and I’ve felt all along it would be there for the taking, that, eventually, it would fall into my lap if I continue to do what I do. Adversity is a thing in life you have to face. When you overcome it, you can feel the greatness surrounding you. That’s a reason I’m getting this opportunity to fight for all these belts and put my name at the top of this division.”
The case for Jermall
Before Jermell attempts to seize his moment, his brother confronts his sternest test yet in Derevyanchenko, who took Gennadiy Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs to the brink before receiving unkind scorecards in those middleweight title fights.
Derevyanchenko has established himself as a relentless brawler who pressed forward even in the face of Golovkin, who once knocked out 23 straight men. Derevyanchenko additionally senses he needs to win without the aid of the judges, so amplifying his offense against Charlo has the potential to create one of the most entertaining bouts of the year.
“Jermall is more aggressive and risk taking and more open than Jermell,” said a matchmaker who once scripted the fighters’ careers. “Because of that aggression, Jermall may find himself more open to be countered at the elite level.”
Conversely, a defining Jermall victory over a man who’s been so problematic for the other top fighters in the division will affirm much about his class.
“Derevyanchenko is a good fighter. Victory over him will move some people — not all — to give him his props,” said Jermall’s veteran trainer, Ronnie Shields. “Some will say, ‘Now he’s proven it and we see why Canelo probably avoided him.’ A lot of that stuff will come out.”
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Even if it doesn’t, Shields has advised his student to fight for his own satisfaction as Jermall has been dogged by criticism over the caliber of his competition.
Since defeating former 154-pound champion Austin Trout and Julian Williams in 2016 light-middleweight bouts, Jermall Charlo has met Jorge Sebastian-Heiland, Hugo Centeno, Matt Korobov, Brandon Adams and Dennis Hogan.
Those five have 17 losses and five draws among them.
Charlo last year was elevated to WBC champion because the organization designated Canelo Alvarez its “Franchise Champion.”
“Jermall got exposed by Korobov, and I actually thought Korobov beat him,” a longtime matchmaker said. “That’s no disgrace, because Korobov, with his amateur pedigree, can give anyone problems. Korobov helps him for a fight like this. Derevyanchenko’s a guy who’s going to give anyone a tough fight. No matter who you put him in there with, he’s going to be there from rounds one through 12.
“And now we’re really going to see what Jermall is really all about. We’re going to see if he’s the real deal. I’m going to give him more credit beyond what I give him already if he defeats Derevyanchenko more convincingly than Danny Jacobs or Golovkin has.”
Jermall Charlo celebrates his WBC middleweight title win against Dennis Hogan on Dec. 7, 2019, in Brooklyn. (Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)A PBC-affiliated trainer aware of negotiations with Derevyanchenko said Jermall Charlo shouldn’t be hammered over any caution exercised in his career path by PBC head Al Haymon.
“It’s not his fault he hasn’t fought this person or that person. He doesn’t pick his fights,” said the trainer. “He’s not the manager or promoter. He’s the fighter. For this fight, when he saw they ranked Sergiy No. 1, he said, ‘I want to fight him.’ This is the fight he asked for. He wants to show everyone in the sport he’s the best in the division. That’s why this fight is happening.”
Shields, who formerly trained the late two-division champion Vernon Forrest, said a young Jermall used to watch those sessions closely and has sought to model his career after Forrest’s.
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The trainer is thrilled to let his fighter showcase that devotion as potential dates with WBO champion Demetrius Andrade or Golovkin or Alvarez loom.
“If you were to see him in the gym, you wouldn’t believe how hard this kid works,” Shields said. “And that’s a tribute to him wanting to become a champion and wanting to stay a champion. He does everything I ask him to do and continues to impress me. I don’t look at or care what other people say. He just works hard every day to take on whoever they put in the ring with us.”
Jermall Charlo has worked himself up for the Derevyanchenko challenge by aiming scorn at his opponent’s trainer, Andre Rozier.
“I know when someone’s overlooking me. His trainer is worried about everything about me, about how I am as a person, saying he can read bodies and souls,” Charlo said. “That shit don’t work over here. I’m a fighter and will always be a fighter. If (opponent No.) 31 wants to challenge me, when you signed the contract, you already made a mistake. I’m here to fight. I’m here to take you out.”
Which twin stands out?
Since the twins’ personalities are so similar, a broadcast executive said he can’t bring himself yet to identify which Charlo has more star power.
“Early on, the book was that Jermell was the better boxer and Jermall was the bigger puncher. At that point, you might put your money on Jermall because fans love knockouts and stoppages,” the executive said. “But Jermell has worked on his power and Jermall has improved so much as a boxer, I’m not that sure they’re all that distinguishable at this point. They both are good, bordering on excellent boxers with the power to stop opponents. I don’t see a way to make a clear distinction.
“It’s the curse of being a twin. No matter how distinctive you are, the fact you’re a twin will always come up and you’ll always be grouped together to some extent. … It’s a good thing because it’s earned them some early attention because of the uniqueness. It’s a bad thing in that I’m sure each of them would like to be appreciated more as an individual than one part of a two-man team.”
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One trainer said the benefit of the doubleheader is for fans to pay attention to the nuanced disciplines that separate the Charlos.
“They each have their own style. Jermall has the harder jab. Jermell has the better jab. Jermell throws his jabs in repetition. Jermall throws his to hurt you,” the trainer said. “As far as conditioning, it’s tit for tat. They’re always in shape and work hard. Jermall has more power. Jermell has power, too, but his is used to wear you down so he can then hurt you. Jermall can hit you with one shot and hurt you.”
Jermell said he’s found peace with the comparisons.
“I am who I am. My brother is who he is. Maybe you like me. If you don’t, maybe you can like my brother,” he said. “Thank God there’s two of us.”
Still, the question of who’s better beckons.
“The performance on Saturday will answer that, and I think it will be Jermall,” said the former matchmaker of the Charlos. “Jermall has an opportunity right now to do something and stand out. If he goes in there and beats Derevyanchenko in a clearer fashion after those closes losses against Jacobs and GGG, then a dominant performance means the attention shifts his way.”
(Top photo: Frank Micelotta / Fox Sports / PictureGroup)
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