Like most insiders and fans of the sport, Brian Mendoza is very interested in the upcoming Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo showdown. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
The Showtime distributed pay-per-view battle pitting two undisputed champions takes place on September 30th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Charlo will be moving up two weight classes to the super middleweight division. However, Mendoza doesn’t see that as as much of a disadvantage as others do because of how big Charlo is for a super welterweight fighter.
“t’s actually a close call for me because I don’t believe Canelo is picking on the small guy because Charlo has to really cut down to make 154 and he’s a very strong and athletic fighter,” Mendoza told BoxingScene.com.
“So it’s going to be an interesting matchup. That being said, as long as Canelo is still sharp with his counters and head movement I’m picking him to win a close fight.”
Mendoza, who holds the WBC interim super welterweight title, may have his own unification fight on the horizon. He faces WBO super welterweight champion Tim Tszyu in a Showtime televised fight on October 15th in Australia.
The fight will become a unification bout if the WBC strips Charlo and elevates Mendoza to full champion, but that doesn’t appear to be on the table at the moment.
He plans on traveling to Australia a full two weeks before the fight to get accustomed to the weather and difference in time zones.
“I’m leaving no stone unturned. I will be leaving for Australia right after the Canelo-Charlo fight,” said Mendoza.
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