Jermell Charlo believes that a potential win against Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 30 will carry more weight on boxing’s pound-for-pound list than Terence Crawford’s recent victory over Errol Spence Jr.
“Yeah, for sure [I’ll be a better pound-for-pound fighter than Crawford if I beat Alvarez]. I think it definitely does. I’m already the undisputed [champion at super welterweight] and would be beating another undisputed [champion at super middleweight]. It would be a dream come true,” Charlo told BoxingScene.com in an interview.
It appears that a Charlo-Crawford fight could also happen sometime in 2024, considering the serious interest and continuous callouts from both fighters in recent weeks.
The current undisputed welterweight champion Crawford is doing everything he possibly can to chase Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs), recently stating that he’d even jump up three weight classes to face the Houston native should he beat Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs).
Charlo is still determining if that will be feasible.
“I haven’t been beefing, like truthfully, [with Crawford]. He’s just feeling himself right now. He’s a top dog. He’s moving up in weight. Everybody wants to fight the best,” said Charlo.
“Man, I really don’t know that just yet [if I am a 168-pound fighter moving fighter]. 168 is considerably still kind of like not my weight division. It’s not as easy to make 168. I have to gain weight and gaining weight when you’re working really hard is really tough. I could easily walk around at 168. I’m definitely not the naturally bigger fighter. 168 is not my weight division. I think I would have to see [Crawford] at a different weight category.”
Ultimately, Charlo believes that fighters will have to make adjustments at the scale to make the superfights that fans desire.
“Yeah, that’s what’s happening [fighters have to move up and down divisions to make big fights],” said Charlo. “One day boxing will be where the [undefeated record] won’t matter. A lot of fighters are protecting their ‘0’ and the politics behind it. It’s doing no good for the sport. They are losing their reputation.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.