Ronnie Shields was Jermell Charlo’s trainer when Shields led Erislandy Lara into his 12-round, 155-pound non-title fight against Canelo Alvarez.
Nine years after Lara’s controversial split-decision loss to the Mexican icon, Shields hopes Charlo can concentrate on implementing his game plan and not worry about how the judges are scoring their 12-round, 168-pound title fight. Shields is no longer Charlo’s trainer, but he thinks Charlo, who has long worked with Derrick James, can pull off an upset in what Shields expects to be a very competitive fight September 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The judges for Alvarez-Charlo have not yet been revealed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Shields still called the tendency for Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) to get generous treatment on scorecards in Las Vegas “the biggest problem” when facing the four-division champion.
“The thing about it is, you know, going in you can’t think about it,” Shields stated during a virtual trainers’ roundtable hosted recently by Premier Boxing Champions and Showtime. “You can’t think that. You know, you just have to go out there and he just have to go out and win rounds. And look, let the people judge it. People are always good at judging these fights, so let the people judge it. You know, look, man, let’s just hope that we have three of the best judges, that whoever wins deserve to win.
“You know, some people are gonna agree on some rounds and some people are not gonna agree on rounds. But Charlo, he has to just not think about, you know, the judges, how they’re scoring this fight. That’s the last thing that should be on the fighter’s mind. He should just concentrate on what they’re doing in the gym and let that incorporate in the fight, and just do it that way. And if people think he won the fight, then he’s gonna get the accolades for that.”
Lara lost nine rounds to Alvarez according to judge Levi Martinez, who scored their fight 117-111 for Alvarez in July 2014 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Judge Dave Moretti scored seven rounds for Alvarez, who beat the Cuban southpaw 115-113 on his card.
Judge Jerry Roth credited Lara for winning seven rounds, 115-113, but Alvarez still emerged victorious two fights after Floyd Mayweather Jr. beat him by majority decision. Mayweather won their 12-round, 154-pound championship bout decisively in September 2013 at MGM Grand Garden Arena, yet judge CJ Ross infamously scored it a draw, 114-114.
Alvarez, 33, has won world titles in three additional divisions since he edged Lara – middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight. The Guadalajara native will defend his IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 168-pound championships against Houston’s Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs), who has moved up two weight classes, 14 pounds altogether, to challenge Alvarez in their Showtime Pay-Per-View main event.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.