LAS VEGAS – Charles Conwell considers Brian Mendoza the caliber of opponent he needs to beat to move himself into legitimate position to challenge Jermell Charlo for 154-pound supremacy.
Conwell expects Charlo to defeat Tim Tszyu whenever the undisputed junior middleweight champion’s left hand heals and their fight for Charlo’s IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO belts is rescheduled. Meanwhile, Conwell is focused on challenging Mendoza for the WBC interim super welterweight title he won from Sebastian Fundora on April 8.
Conwell’s handlers have petitioned the WBC to order Mendoza to make his first title defense against Conwell (18-0, 13 KOs), a 2016 U.S. Olympian who is ranked second among the WBC’s 154-pound contenders. The WBC’s number one contender for Mendoza’s championship, England’s Liam Smith, is recovering from a back injury and otherwise unavailable because he is contractually obligated to an immediate rematch with British rival Chris Eubank Jr., whom Smith surprisingly stopped in the fourth round January 21 at AO Arena in Manchester, England.
“I feel like I need a big win like this on my resume to push forward and stake a claim to a Charlo fight,” Conwell told BoxingScene.com. “I feel without that type of win people will be like, ‘Who is this guy? What has he done?’ I feel like they all have that in their back pocket, so I feel like a dominant win over these type of guys will for sure solidify me and have them say, ‘OK, let’s do it.’ ”
Albuquerque’s Mendoza (22-2, 16 KOs) was down on all three scorecards when he violently knocked out Fundora (20-1-1, 13 KOs) with a three-punch combination in the seventh round of a “Showtime Championship Boxing” main event at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
“I was definitely surprised,” Conwell said. “I thought Fundora was gonna win, for sure. I always had a feeling, like everyone else thought Fundora was gonna lose one day, eventually, like that. But I never thought it was gonna happen against Brian Mendoza. That’s why boxing’s crazy. You never know what could happen.”
Mendoza wants to fight the Charlo-Tszyu winner as well, but he might need to defend his title in his next bout because Charlo-Tszyu probably won’t take place until some point in the fall. Australia’s Tszyu (22-0, 16 KOs) must defeat Mexican veteran Carlos Ocampo (35-2, 23 KOs) on June 18 in Broadbeach, Australia to maintain his position as the mandatory challenger for Charlo’s WBO belt.
Regardless, Cleveland’s Conwell, his new manager, Mark Habibi, and his promoter, Lou DiBella, can’t see any reason why Conwell shouldn’t be Mendoza’s next opponent.
“He got two good wins back-to-back, came from fighting on undercards,” Conwell said of Mendoza’s knockouts of Fundora and Jeison Rosario. “But we feel like it’s our time now. You know what I mean? It was his turn, but now it’s like, ‘Thanks for holding my belt for me.’ ”
Conwell last fought November 26, when he beat rugged Dominican veteran Juan Carlos Abreu (25-7-1, 23 KOs, 1 NC) by majority decision in a 10-rounder at Dignity Health Sports Park. The 25-year-old Conwell knocked out unbeaten opponents in three of his five previous bouts and is anxious to prove himself against the top boxers in his division.
“Man, it’s real frustrating, especially seeing all these big fights happening in the division,” Conwell said. “I feel like I’m just being left out and not talked about. I wanna start bringing myself to the forefront, pushing forward for those big opportunities, like this Mendoza fight. I’m ranked number two in the WBC, so it’s bound to happen. We’re gonna keep pushing, pushing and pushing until it happens.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.