The Charlo Twins Are Heading Down Different Paths to Ring Renown

Published

4 years ago

June 21, 2019

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Throughout recorded history, mankind’s deep thinkers have always been fascinated by the living, breathing copies of one another that are identical twins. Psychologists have written scholarly books about their many shared traits, and paranormal researchers can cite literally thousands of examples of identicals that claim to know what their mirror image is thinking or feeling at a given moment.

All of which makes boxing’s Charlo twins, 29-year-olds Jermell and Jermall, such interesting case studies for probers of the human mind as well as fight fans. Seemingly separated only by one vowel in their first names, Jermell (31-1, 15 KOs), who is one minute younger, again appears only slightly earlier than Jermall (28-0, 21 KOs) when he takes on Jorge Cota (28-3, 25 KOs) in the PBC on Fox main event Sunday night from Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay. Six nights later, on June 29, Jermall defends his WBC interim middleweight championship against Brandon Adams (21-2, 13 KOs) in the Showtime-televised marquee bout from the NRG Arena in the twins’ hometown of Houston.

But while those ring appearances come less than a week apart, that’s still a wider gap than their most recent bouts, which came on Dec. 22 of last year, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Again fighting on the same card, as they occasionally have during their dual ascents to the borders of legitimate stardom, the matter of top billing that night was decided by a coin flip. Jermall won and thus was accorded the privilege of going on last, the slot usually reserved for the main event, while Jermell, the WBC super welterweight champ, served as his twin’s lead-in with a title defense against Tony Harrison.

This time, however, the Charlos did not enjoy their familiar success in tandem. Although Jermall retained his WBC interim middleweight championship with a wide unanimous decision over Matt Korobov, his mood at the postfight press conference was noticeably dampened as he sat alongside Jermell, who had been dethroned by Harrison on a close unanimous decision that more than a few observers thought might have gone the other way.

“There’s no way that (Harrison) won that fight,” Jermell said as he struggled to contain his emotions. “I don’t understand how they came up with those scores (116-112 and 115-113, twice). I didn’t just lose. I was robbed.”

Sunday’s opponent for Jermell was again to have been Harrison in the type of grudge match that always makes for compelling TV. But Harrison was obliged to withdraw when he injured his right ankle in training, opening the door for Cota to come in as a late replacement.

What the events of Dec. 22, 2018, did, maybe more than ever, was illustrate that the Charlos – who always will be as close as any boxing brothers have ever been, even closer than Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, who look like twins although they aren’t and who at one time simultaneously held alphabet versions of the heavyweight championship – are traveling slightly different paths toward the same goal.

The variations are as stark and noticeable as their tattoos (Jermall has the well-inked chest while Jermell’s tats are more concentrated on his arms and shoulders), and as subtle as the stylistic modifications adopted by Jermell when he switched several years ago from veteran trainer Ronnie Shields, who still works with Jermall in the Houston area, to Dallas-based Derrick James.

And although both were world-rated 154-pounders at one time, Jermell has elected to remain a super welterweight while Jermall now campaigns as a full-fledged middleweight, eliminating any notion that the twins might one day have to fight one another, just as the Klitschkos vowed that they never would square off in a unification showdown.

But times and circumstances can change, even for identical twins who share not only the same genetic makeup, but often the same home environments, friends, clothes and, of course, secrets.

“I think our being twins has had a beneficial effect on both of us because of marketability,” Jermell said in 2016. “It’s one of the reasons we’ve been pushed the way we’ve been pushed. I think we always had it in our minds that someday it might turn into a business asset. We always got more attention because we’re twins. It was fun. We slept in the same bedroom all the way through high school.

“But, really, we are different. We like different cars, different kinds of music. I think the time has come for each of us to be recognized for our individual accomplishments.”

James, The Sweet Science’s 2017 Trainer of the Year who also is the chief second for IBF welterweight champ Errol Spence Jr., said it was inevitable that the twins would make the choice, as all twins eventually do, to stake out something that for each is his and his alone.

“Jermell breaking away, he kind of told me why,” said James, who would not elaborate. “Jermell and Jermall are always going to be extremely close, but they’re each becoming their own man. That doesn’t mean they’re totally splitting apart or doing fewer things together. I just think they’re trying to establish their own individuality within the dynamic of being identical twins.”

For Jermell, the goal in the near-future is to meet and defeat Harrison, thus setting right the injustice he continues to believe that was perpetrated upon him a half-year ago in Brooklyn. He said that in the moments after the 12^th and final round had concluded and before the scorecards were read, Harrison whispered words of congratulations to him, an admission on the part of the Detroit fighter that he had been beaten. Harrison insists he said no such thing.

“He told me, `You did it. I can see why you’re a real champ,’” Jermell revealed at the time.

Jermell now insists he is fully focused on Cota, as it should be. Settling up with Harrison can stay on the back burner a while longer.

“I want to get him out of there,” Jermell said of his plans for Harrison’s stand-in. “This is a fight to show that I’m back and never really left. It was a quick change to Cota, but I’m always ready for anybody.”

For his part, Cota, a hard-punching Mexican, said he is inspired by the huge upset Mexican-American Andy Ruiz Jr. recently sprang in lifting Anthony Joshua’s IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight title belts. He also disputes Jermell’s assertion that he was shafted in the fight against Harrison.

“For me, Harrison won that fight,” Cota said. “He threw better punches and landed more. A lot of people thought Jermell had won, but I saw it for Harrison.

“I am a demon in that ring. When other guys are in there, my punches scare them. Jermell is a good boxer, but I think that when he’s under pressure he doesn’t know what to do. I’m going to put pressure on him from the first bell and go right through him.”

In the back-and-forth jockeying to be recognized as the better of the boxing Charlos, it would seem that Jermall, with his interim WBC title and undefeated record, presently holds the upper hand. Although he calls Adams a “game opponent,” he is energized by fighting before a supportive home crowd in Houston and believes a victory, especially if it comes in emphatic fashion, could put him in position for a big-money, high-visibility shot at WBC/WBA/IBF ruler Canelo Alvarez. Like Jermell, he said he will not make the mistake of taking lightly the guy who’ll be in the other corner on June 23.

“I’m training like I’m training for Canelo,” Jermall stressed. “Brandon Adams is going to be on his A-game, but if he makes a wrong move it’s going to be a short night for him. The division is mine as long as I continue to do what I’m doing. I’m in a good place. I’m a force to be reckoned with in the 160-pound division.”

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Undercard Results from the Canelo-Charlo Card in Las Vegas

Published

3 hours ago

September 30, 2023

Arne K. Lang

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Undercard Results from the Canelo-Charlo Card in Las Vegas

In a heavyweight battle slated for 10, Frank Sanchez (23-0, 16 KOs) stopped LA trial horse Scott Alexander (17-6-2) after four frames. Alexander’s corner attempted to stop it in the waning seconds of the fourth, but the referee did not see it and the bell rang before the fight was waived off.

Alexander had one big moment. In the opening round, he rocked Sanchez with a short right hand. But from there, it was all Sanchez in a rather messy fight.

A Miami-based Cuban defector, Frank Sanchez came in ranked #3 by the WBO, #4 by the WBC, and #5 by the IBF. His best win came in this building, a comfortable decision over Efe Ajagba in October of 2021. Alexander also fought here. In his previous visit to the T-Mobile, he was knocked out in the opening round by Zhilei Zhang.

Former WBO light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk, in his third fight back since ending his retirement, improved to 20-0 (16) with a second-round stoppage of 38-year-old Brazilian Isaac Rodrigues (28-5). Gvozdyk, 36, left the sport after getting beat up by Artur Beterbiev, but got the itch and is pursuing a fight with Dmitry Bivol.

In an 8-round middleweight fight, 2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha (24-3-1) won a majority decision over Keandre Leatherwood (23-9-1). The judges had it 76-76 and 78-74 twice. Once a highly regarded prospect, Gausha is spinning his wheels. Leatherwood, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, had been stopped four times.

Guadalajara super lightweight Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela advanced to 28-3-1 (17 KOs) with a sixth-round stoppage of overmatched Colombia import Yves Gabriel Solano (15-3). This was redemption of sorts for Valenzuela who lost an unpopular 12-round decision to Montana Love in his last outing inside these walls.

Kazakh super middleweight Bek Nuramaganbat (11-0) continued his fast ascent of the 168-pound ladder with a third-round stoppage of Bola Osundairo. A 30-year-old Chicago-based Nigerian, Osundairo was a 2021 USA National Champion at 178 pounds.

A four-round middleweight contest between Abilikhan Amankul (4-0-1, 4 KOs) and Joeshon James (7-0-2, 4 KOs) ended in a draw. Although he didn’t win, Sacramento’s James continued to exceed expectations. In previous contests he KOed previously undefeated Richard Brewart and fought to a draw with Top Rank signee Javier Martinez. Amankul, a 26-year-old Kazakh, lost a split decision to eventual gold medal winner Hebert Conceicao in the Tokyo Olympics.

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—

David Avila is ringside. Check back later for his report of the Canelo-Charlo fight and the main supporting bouts.

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Opetaia Demolishes Thompson in London; Wallin Upsets Gassiev in Turkey

Published

5 hours ago

September 30, 2023

Arne K. Lang

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In his first defense of his IBF cruiserweight title, Australian southpaw Jai Opetaia demolished overmatched Jordan Thompson in the featured bout of a Matchroom card at London’s Wembley Arena. Opetaia (23-0, 18 KOs) overwhelmed Thompson (15-1) from the opening gun and had the six-foot-six Mancunian on the canvas twice before the match was waived off at the 20-second mark of round four.

An Olympian at the age of 16, Opetaia won the title 15 months ago with a unanimous decision over longtime title-holder Mairis Briedis. Noting that Opetaia broke his jaw in two places early in that contest, prominent Australian sporting journalist Simon Smale called it “one of the bravest, gutsiest, victories in Australian boxing history.”

Following that fight, Opetaia had to eat through a straw for several months. Hence, there were questions about whether his jaw would hold up and whether he would show ring rust in his first title defense. But the towering Thompson, whose nickname is Troublesome, although game, proved to be no trouble whatsoever for Opetaia who would be favored to beat any cruiserweight in the world, no matter the locale.

Opetaia may return to England for his next fight which would be a unification match with Bournemouth’s 18-1 Chris Billam-Smith who captured the WBO version of the 200-pound title in May with a surprisingly one-sided decision over favored Lawrence Okolie. The other cruiserweight title-holders are the well-traveled Badou Jack (WBC) and the French-Armenian boxer Arsen Goulamirian (WBA).

Four female fights were on the undercard including two 10-rounders, both of which were won by the “A side” Englishwomen.

In her first title defense, Ellie Scotney, a 25-year-old Londoner, retained her IBF world super bantamweight title and improved to 8-0 at the expense of 37-year-old Argentine veteran Laura Soledad Griffa (20-9). In a rather monotonous fight, Scotney won every round on two of the scorecards and nine rounds on the other.

Rhiannon Dixon, a 29-year-old southpaw, had a surprisingly easy time with Norwegian veteran Katharina Thanderz, a former world title challenger. Dixon (9-0) won every round on all three cards. Thanderz, who trains in Spain, declined to 16-2.

Wallin-Gassiev

In a 12-round heavyweight fight in Antalya, Turkey, Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs) won a split decision over Murat Gassiev (30-2). This was a dull fight. Owing to various issues, Gassiev had answered the bell for only eight rounds in the previous seven years and his vaunted power had deserted him. True, he landed the harder punches, but Wallin, who kept pecking away with his jab, was far busier and won the fight on volume alone. Two of the judges had it 115-113 for the Swede who is 6-0 since going 12 rounds with Tyson Fury. The other judge scored it for Gassiev by a bizarre 117-111.

Opetaia-Thompson photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 254: Canelo vs Jermell Charlo in a Battle of Undisputed Champions

Published

1 day ago

September 29, 2023

David A. Avila

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LAS VEGAS-Less than the usual massive crowd gathered for boxing kingpin Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Jermell Charlo in the desert heat outside of the T-Mobile Arena on Friday afternoon. Usually the weigh-ins are slightly bigger for Mexico’s idol.

Is the declining crowd an indicator of Alvarez fans ebbing belief in his abilities?

Still, on Saturday night, two undisputed world champions from differing divisions will collide as Guadalajara, Mexico’s Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) meets Houston’s Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) at T-Mobile Arena for the super middleweight world championship. PPV.Com will stream the clash of champions.

This year has seen a hyper-speed uptick in champions fighting other champions, perhaps the result of watching their female counterparts Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor produce the biggest fight of 2022. This year several marquee collisions were spawned from lightweights to heavyweights.

Or maybe the pandemic lull created a twitch panic among the elite.

Charlo was one of those who had been sidelined while others like Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Naoya “Monster” Inoue and Canelo Alvarez filled their pockets with cash. And others like Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez gained undisputed glory.

Instead of watching on the sidelines, Charlo decided to make his move for greater glory by attempting to dethrone one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, if not the kingpin of boxing when it comes to money.

“If I accomplish this massive goal, it will be hard to top,” Charlo said a few weeks ago during his media workout. “I’ll be in the record book with the greats of boxing for a long time.”

Risks brings rewards.

Canelo, long a member of the boxing elite, has held his position as the box office king for many years now by taking the daunting risks throughout his boxing life.

“Jermell is right, I have nothing to prove. But this time I have something to prove to him,” said Alvarez while in Las Vegas on Wednesday. “He never believed in my skills. He’s been calling me out. Now I have an opportunity to show him my skills.”

Undisputed super welterweight will challenge undisputed super middleweight in a two-division jump not often seen, except for Henry Armstrong, Roberto Duran and Sugar Shane Mosley. It’s the road taken by those who seek to be great.

Both are 33 but the redhead Alvarez has been fighting professionally since he was 15. That’s a lot of bullets in the chamber he has already used. Charlo has height, speed and the ability to adapt to different styles. Stylistically, it’s a battle that makes even the skeptics take pause.

It all depends on Alvarez’s resiliency. Charlo has ring rust, while Alvarez seemingly has lost the hunger. Whose weakness will prove the greater?

“Now is the time for this fight. We’re in our primes and at our best,” said Charlo. “I wanna shake the doubters off and prove to the world why I”m in this position. There’s a reason I made it this far.”

Alvarez remembers being as hungry as Charlo.

“I never overlook any fighter,” Alvarez said. “I know what he’s going to bring and I’m ready.”

Undercard

Several other notable bouts are included on the pay-per-view card.

Former world titlists and current welterweight contenders Yordenis Ugas (27-5) and Mario Barrios (27-2) battle for an interim title set for 12 rounds.

Super welterweights Jesus Ramos (20-0, 16 KOs) and Erickson Lubin (25-2, 18 KOs) match skills in a match that pits a southpaw veteran against an undefeated southpaw from Arizona. For the past three years Ramos has been moving up the ladder and was last seen pounding out highly-touted Joey Spencer. Can he survive Lubin who nearly toppled Sebastian Fundora?

Doors open at T-Mobile Arena at 2 p.m. Pacific Time.

Lampley is back

Legendary HBO announcer Jim Lampley was hired along with ace reporter Lance Pugmire who will co-host the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez versus Jermell Charlo showdown via viewer chat live on PPV.com.

It’s the same concept used by Monday Night Football that features former quarterback greats Peyton Manning and Eli Manning in alternative programming.

Lampley returns to boxing after a five-year absence following HBO’s yanking of the popular program that vaulted elite boxing to the top behind the likes of George Foreman, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao.

The veteran announcer will be live streaming all the action on media platforms before and during the fight action. He was sorely missed by all who follow the sweet science.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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