Jose Benavidez Sr. got an up-close look at Jermall Charlo in November when Charlo beat his son Jose Jr. in a unanimous decision.
But if Charlo were to face his younger son, David, his father and trainer is confident that it would be a completely different outcome.
“To be honest, I would love to fight Jermall Charlo, but David would stop him,” said Benavidez Sr. “With the performance that we’ve seen with my other son, Jose Jr., he would destroy him. I don’t think it would be a fair or exciting fight. We want dangerous fights that are 50-50. I don’t think Charlo is a 50-50 fight. I don’t think he’s a fighter who deserves to fight David or Canelo [Alvarez] at this point. I would love to take it in a heartbeat. It’s easy money. An easy fight. But we want to give the fans hard fights, good fights. I don’t think fans will be happy with that fight either.”
When Charlo fought Jose Jr., he was coming off a 29-month layoff and also missed weight by 3 ½ pounds for the 163-pound contracted bout. But the WBC middleweight beltholder still had enough skills to muster a win in the matchup.
“He beat my son fair and square, but he’s not at a level of David or Canelo,” said Benavidez Sr. “I’m a big fan of him but let’s be honest, I don’t think he’s 100 percent ready.”
Charlo has been shortlisted as a potential opponent for Alvarez’s next bout in May. The fight would allow Jermall a chance to avenge the September loss his twin brother Jermell had against Alvarez.
As Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) considers options for his May return fight, Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) is aiming to make his light heavyweight debut by fighting former 175-pound titleholder Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June.
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 X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.