Jermell Charlo apparently has come around to sharing the same viewpoint as Errol Spence Jr.
In a recent interview, Charlo, the undisputed junior middleweight champion from Houston, Texas, expressed interest in the idea of fighting his friend and training mate Spence, the unified welterweight champion from Desoto, Texas.
On one condition: It would have to be for a pretty, pretty penny.
“Of course [I would be open to fighting Spence],” Charlo told Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast. “If the money right, we’ll get in there and get it on. That’s never been brought to me. It’s not something I would deny.”
Charlo had previously batted away any suggestion of a fight between him and Spence, as they share a trainer in Derrick James. But Spence has always seemed to be a bit more amenable to the idea, so long as a commensurate paycheck is attached.
Now Charlo is on the same page with Spence.
“I know Errol said the same thing,” Charlo said. “Hey, who knows. Later on in the future, in life, we can do what we do. Right now we’re stablemates, we’re brothers, we ain’t doing all that.”
Public clamor for a fight between Charlo and Spence may only get louder, if, as some reports have suggested, Spence moves up to the 154-pound division later this year. Spence, a career welterweight, has made it clear it is becoming increasingly difficult for him to make the 147-pound limit.
Charlo, on the other hand, has stated that he does not feel the need to leave the 154-pound ranks anytime soon, citing his interest in defending his titles against his mandatories, as well as fielding challenges from potential newcomers, including welterweight titlist Terence Crawford.
Charlo, 32, is recovering from a broken hand injury that he sustained last December during a sparring session, causing him to pull out of a scheduled defense against mandatory challenger Tim Tszyu of Australia. There has been talk that that fight could be scheduled later this year, possibly in the late summer months.