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World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman is embracing the recently announced showdown between two of his world champions.
Last Friday, undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez surprised a lot of people when he revealed that he’s facing undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) on September 30th in Las Vegas. The fight will be carried by Showtime Pay-Per-View.
Canelo had recently announced that he signed a multi-fight agreement with Premier Boxing Champions – after having six of his last seven fights with Eddie Hearn of Matchroom.
Many insiders had expected Canelo to face Jermell’s older brother, WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo, on September 16, as part of Mexico’s Independence Day weekend.
Jermall, inactive for over two years, notified PBC that he would not be ready in time for such a fight.
Jermell will be moving up by two full weight divisions to take the fight.
For his part, Sulaiman likes the idea of Canelo and Charlo colliding in the ring.
“This is the new era of Canelo, his fight against Charlo will be one of those confrontations which will be remembered, due to its characteristics. Whenever a Mexican fights an American a tremendous battle is guaranteed. For Saul himself, his victories against Austin Trout, Daniel Jacobs and James Kirkland were of great expectation, great fights and with important results in the ratings and business in general for the promoter and the boxers,” Sulaiman said.
“Jermell won his first championship, the WBC Continental Americas super welterweight 10 years ago; he also won the IBF in 2013, and won the WBC super welterweight world championship in 2016. This means that he has 10 years of experience in high-level title fights. His record is 35 wins, one loss and one draw. He avenged his loss against Tony Harrison, and his draw against Brian Castaño, both of whom he defeated by blunt knockouts.
“He is a strong fighter, with great boxing and punching power; the only rival in common with Canelo is Austin Trout, and both defeated him by decision. There are many options for Saul Alvarez, after his signing with PBC, in addition to Jermell, there is his brother Jermall Charlo; also the official challenger of the division, David Benavidez. In short, an interesting list of great fights in the future of the Mexican star.”