Tag: jermall charlo
Janibek Alimkhanuly: ‘(Jermall)Charlo would be easy work for me, and he knows that’
Janibek “Qazaq Style” Alimkhanuly (12-0, 8 KOs) was officially named WBO middleweight world champion after the organization’s previous champion, Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade, elected to leave the division instead of making a mandatory defense against Janibek.
According to Top Rank, Janibek will make the first defense of his world title later this year on ESPN.
Janibek (12-0, 8 KOs) made his Top Rank debut as a 2-0 prospect in 2018 and quickly moved up the ranks with victories over Vaughn Alexander, Steven Martinez, and Albert Onolunose. He broke through in 2021 with one-sided knockouts over former world champions Rob Brant and Hassan N’Dam.
In May, Janibek fought Danny Dignum for the interim WBO middleweight title after multiple prospective opponents turned down the opportunity. Janibek knocked out Dignum in the second round.
“I would pick Janibek over any middleweight in the world,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “He is a southpaw with tremendous power and will reign over the division for a very long time.”
This is what the new WBO middleweight world champion had to say:
On being the WBO Middleweight champion:
“I am honored to be the first WBO world champion from Kazakhstan. As middleweight champion, I will represent my nation with great pride.”
On Andrade:
“Demetrius Andrade had no interest in fighting me. I wanted to fight him because I know I would knock him out. He ran away to super middleweight to avoid fighting me. But don’t worry, Demetrius. After I unify the belts at middleweight, we can fight.”
On Jermall Charlo:
“I’d have no issue fighting Jermall Charlo for his WBC title. We are both champions, so let’s unify the belts. Charlo would be easy work for me, and he knows that. Champions should fight other champions. It’s too bad the other so-called ‘champions’ do not feel that way.”
Munguia on fight with Charlo: ‘I think it would be great for boxing’
Former world champion and undefeated Jaime Munguia (40-0, 32 KOs) got off to a slow start Saturday night against former world title challenger Jimmy “Kilrain” Kelly (26-3, 10 KOs) in their scheduled 12-round super middleweight fight at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Kelly was in control for the first few rounds, but Munguia started to land strong power punches as Kelly tried and often failed to counter. By the fifth round, Munguia attacked, dropping him three times to be declared the winner by knockout at the 2:57 marker.
“It was difficult in the beginning since he’s a slippery, tough fighter, and he could take a punch,” said Munguia. “He was trying to do his plan of attack, but I had to do my thing and work the body. My mentality was that I was losing the first three rounds. So I had to follow my plan of slowing him down by attacking the body. I figured out that I had to work through the middle and throw punches like the uppercut. I think it was the punch that I knocked him down with.”
After the fight, the 25-year-old Munguia, who, like his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, did earlier this week, called out WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo. Recently, the two were in talks about a fight, but they could not come to an agreement.
“I think this fight helped me out a lot,” he said. “I’m ready to go back to 160 to fight for a world title or move to 168. I’m ready for any challenge. There are a lot of people who are supporting me. I want to say what Oscar said for Charlo to grow some balls and stop hiding behind Haymon. I think it would be great for boxing. We hope that by the end of the year, we can get a big fight.”
A fight with Charlo would be great, but the business of boxing makes it difficult. Charlo is with PBC/Showtime, and Munguia is with Golden Boy/DAZN, so we’ll see if it happens.
Photo: Tom Hogan / Golden Boy
De La Hoya: ‘One thing about Charlo and the whole PBC stable is that they hide behind Haymon’
Jaime Munguia (39-0, 31 KOs) will return on Saturday night as he battler former world title challenger Jimmy Kelly (26-2, 10 KOs) in a 12-round super middleweight fight on Saturday at Anaheim’s Honda Center.
Recently, Munguia was in talks to battle WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo, but those discussions broke down as the two sides could not come to an agreement.
At the final press conference for Munguia-Kelly on Thursday, Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya talked Charlo-Munguia. According to De La Hoya, Munguia’s side is still ready to make the fight.
“In terms of Charlo, we were ready to make the fight,” De La Hoya said. “We were ready to do whatever it took to give Jaime Munguia the fight he wants and everybody has been asking for. One thing about Charlo and the whole PBC stable is that they hide behind Al Haymon; that’s the bottom line. We don’t want to make ordinary fights; we want to make the best fights. I hope Charlo grows some balls and tells his promoter to fight the very best. These are the fights boxing needs and the fights the fans deserve.”
“I’m not going to exclude our partner DAZN from any type of negotiation. There’s always room for negotiation. Meet us halfway; we can walk across the street; we can meet in the middle of the street. There is no protection; Munguia is ready for anyone. They’re hiding behind Al Haymon, and that’s the bottom line. If the fighters really want to fight, they have to stop saying, ‘talk to my promoter/manager.’ The fighters have a voice, and they need to use it.”
Every story has two sides, so who knows what is true. According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, Charlo-Munguia talks broke down due to a dispute over U.S. broadcast rights.
Many would love to see Charlo-Munguia and other fights in boxing, but too often, the business of boxing gets in the way.
Let’s hope they can make the fight.
Photo: Tom Hogan / Golden Boy
Charlo-Sulecki postponed after Charlo suffers back injury
The Jermall Charlo vs. Maciej Sulecki event, scheduled to take place Saturday, June 18 live on SHOWTIME from Toyota Center in Houston, has been postponed after Charlo suffered a back injury in training.
The card will be rescheduled to a new date that will be announced pending an assessment of when Charlo can return to training.
Lara: ‘I want to fight both Charlo brothers’
After spending a decade at super welterweight where he captured two world titles, Erislandy Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs), who is now the WBA regular world champion at middleweight, is looking to fight all champions in the division.
Being one of the best fighters in the middleweight division, Lara is eager to get a big fight after back-to-back knockouts wins in his last two fights. Last Saturday, on the “Tank” Davis vs Rolly Romero PPV card, Lara stopped Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan (31-5, 21 KOs), and before that he knocked out Thomas LaManna (31-5, 13 KOs) with a devastating overhand left in round one.
“I want to fight both Charlo brothers, either one, as well as I would love to welcome Danny Garcia to his new weight class at some form of a catchweight,” said Lara. “If Keith Thurman wants to fight the best, I am very open to doing a catchweight bout with him too. Errol Spence and Gennady Golovkin are two names I would love to fight as well. I know I am one of the best fighters in the world. I want to fight someone people consider is a legend and beat them.”
Since moving up to middleweight, Lara is on a two-fight knockout streak, and has transformed from a boxing puncher to an inside power puncher, and amazing revolution to say the least. Lara credits to his new coach, Ismael Salas.
“With my new coach, I am learning how to fight on the inside more, I am hitting harder than ever, and I am more dangerous than ever,” said Lara about his recent training methods with coach Ismael Salas. “I am capable of boxing when I need to, but I’m also able to back fighters up, which is something most people might not think of when they think of my fighting style. I am the most complete fighter at middleweight right now and am open to any-and-all challenges.”
Charlo: ‘I have my sights set on bigger opposition’
Unbeaten WBC Middleweight World Champion Jermall Charlo and former title challenger Maciej Sulecki previewed their upcoming championship showdown during a virtual press conference Wednesday before they meet on Saturday, June 18 live on SHOWTIME from Toyota Center in Houston in an event presented by Premier Boxing Champions.
Charlo will hold a Juneteenth celebration in his hometown for the second-straight year on June 18, headlining in Houston again after defeating Juan Montiel in an action-fight last year at Toyota Center. Charlo seeks a fifth successful middleweight title defense but will have to get by the veteran Sulecki, who has gone the distance with former champions Daniel Jacobs and Demetrius Andrade and has added longtime Polish contender Andrzej Fonfara to his training team ahead of this fight.
The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast will also feature undefeated top super bantamweight contender Ra’eese Aleem battling Mike Plania in the 10-round co-main event, and unbeaten lightweight contender Frank Martin facing Panama’s Ricardo Núñez in the 10-round telecast opener at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT
Here is what Charlo had to say Wednesday:
Photos: Sean Michael Ham/TGB Promotions
Fighting on Juneteenth:
“Juneteenth is my day and I’m happy to be performing again on the main stage in my city at Toyota Center. It’s going to be a great night of boxing against another tough opponent. I’m ready to get in there…
“Juneteenth is a big holiday in my city and my town. It started in Galveston only 30 miles away from Houston. It’s a holiday here and I’m the best person to represent it at this time. I’m thankful to fight Juneteenth weekend.”
Fighting Sulecki:
“My opponents always talk. Once they get in there with me, they see that it’s a whole different story. I wanted someone like him who will come in not scared and ready to fight. That’s what I need.
“Sulecki is a good challenger. A lot of people might not know him but he’s been in there with top competition. This is the right timing for this fight against a strong opponent. I’m ready for whatever he brings. He says he can beat my tactics, but once he’s in there he’s going to have to survive..
“I’m very familiar with Sulecki. I’ve trained with one of his friends and he’ll be able to tell him what that heat is going to be like in the ring.
“This is going to be another war. I’m going to be in the pocket and ready to go. Whatever he does, I’ll make the adjustments. If I hit him with something flush, I’m going to knock him out.”
Moving up to 168:
“I’m not in a rush. I’m the champion at 160 pounds. So these guys have to fight me no matter what. I have my sights set on bigger opposition. We’ll move forward when it’s time. If I have to move up to 168 to do that, let’s look at the drawing board after this fight.
Motivated by his brother, Jermell:
“It motivated me to see my brother Jermell capture those goals that we’ve both always wanted. That’s something that I want to do. Sulecki is standing in front of that goal right now. Everyone wants to be champion, but not everyone is destined to be a champion.
“I’m fighting to get the biggest names and get the biggest fights. I’m fighting for my legacy. I’m fighting for something way bigger than just fighting Sulecki.”
Davis, Spence, Charlo brothers, Benavidez headline Showtime/PBC upcoming boxing schedule
SHOWTIME Sports and Premier Boxing Champions today announced nine boxing events across the first half of 2022
The lineup pits champions against champions and top contenders against top contenders to form the strongest and most ambitious schedule in the industry.
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Nine marquee events across five months featuring 21 undefeated fighters;
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Two world championship unifications bouts, one for all four world title belts and the coveted title of Undisputed Champion, and one for three world title belts;
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Seven world championship matches with at least 13 world title belts at stake and three world title eliminators;
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All of the top-six ranked super welterweights fighting in a seven-week span;
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Several pivotal crossroads fights from super bantamweight to super middleweight with an average of two events per month through July.
The schedule features the sport’s biggest stars: Errol Spence, Jr., Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Jermell Charlo, David Benavidez and Jermall Charlo.
Here’s Showtime/PBC schedule for the first half of the year:
March 26 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
Location: The Armory, Minneapolis, Minn.
o Tim Tszyu vs. Terrell Gausha, Super Welterweight Bout
o Michel Rivera vs. Joseph Adorno, Lightweight Bout
o Elvis Rodriguez vs. Juan Jose Velasco, Super Lightweight (142 LBS) Bout
April 9 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
Location: The Theatre at Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas
o Erickson Lubin vs. Sebastian Fundora, WBC Super Welterweight Interim Title
o Tony Harrison vs. Sergio Garcia, Super Welterweight Bout
o Kevin Salgado vs. Bryant Perrella, Super Welterweight Bout
April 16 – SHOWTIME PPV
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Errol Spence Jr. vs. Yordenis Ugas, WBC, WBA & IBF Welterweight World __Championship Unification
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING (preceding PPV):
o Radzhab Butaev vs. Eimantas Stanionis, WBA Welterweight Title Bout
o Brandun Lee vs. Zachary Ochoa, Super Lightweight Bout
May 14 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
Location: Los Angeles
o Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castaño II, Undisputed IBF, WBA, WBC & WBO Super __Welterweight World Championship Unification
o Jaron Ennis vs. Custio Clayton, IBF Welterweight Eliminator
May 21 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
Location: Phoenix
o David Benavidez vs. David Lemieux, Super Middleweight Bout
o Yoelvis Gomez vs. Jorge Cota, Super Welterweight Bout
May 28 – SHOWTIME PPV
Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
o Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero, WBA Lightweight World Championship
June 4 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
Location: Minneapolis
o Stephen Fulton, Jr. vs. Danny Roman, WBO & WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship
o David Morrell vs. Kalvin Henderson, WBA Super Middleweight World Title
June 18 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
Location: Houston
o Jermall Charlo vs. Maciej Sulecki, WBC Middleweight World Championship
July 9 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
Location: San Antonio
o Mark Magsayo vs. Rey Vargas, WBC Featherweight World Championship
Charlo: ‘One-hundred sixty is my weight division’
It may not have been as easy as many thought it would be, but in the end, WBC 160-pound champion Jermall Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) got it done. Charlo defeated Juan Montiel (22-5-2, 22 KOs) by unanimous decision(118-109, 119-109, 120-108 ) in an entertaining fight at Toyota Center in Charlo’s hometown of Houston, Texas(Showtime) on Saturday night.
Coming into this fight, many thought Montiel had no shot, but to his credit, he battled and cut Charlo’s eye, which was the first cut in his career.
“It took a real warrior to get in the ring with me,” Charlo told Showtime reporter Jim Gray following the bout. “He(Montiel) fought each and every round as hard as he could, and I could tell by his eyes that he’s a true warrior from the beginning, and he wanted to fight. It didn’t matter what I hit him with; he wanted more. I love that spirit. He’s going to be great.”
In the sixth round, It appeared that Charlo was going to stop Montiel, and despite being on the receiving end of 36 punches landed, Montiel was able to weather the storm and survive.
Charlo threw a career-high 769 punches on Saturday and landed more than twice the amount of punches as Montiel (258-127), including a career-high 201 power punches.
With Montiel behind him, Charlo wants the best at 160, who he called out after the victory.
“One-hundred sixty is my weight division,” Charlo said. “I want to unify. I want to get (Gennadiy) Golovkin in the ring. I want to bring him to Houston. I want to get Canelo to come to Houston if he’ll come down to 160. This is my weight division. I’m going to stay here and reign here. This is my fourth title defense, and I have many more to come. I’m young. I’m hungry.”
Cruz decisions Vargas:
In the co-main event, a highly anticipated battle between power-punching Mexico City natives, 23-year-old top lightweight contender Isaac Cruz (22-1-1, 15 KOs) scored a wide unanimous decision over former champion Francisco Vargas (27-3-2, 19 KOs). The official scores were 100-89, 99-90 and 97-92.
“What can I say? I’m elated,” said Cruz. “This was exactly the kind of fight we expected. ‘Bandido’ was crafty and fought his fight, that allowed him to stay on his feet until the 10th round. Lots of embracing, but we knew how to manage it.”
Cruz, who shot up the lightweight rankings in 2020 and punctuated his year with an electrifying first-round knockout over Diego Magdaleno in September, came out early looking for a similar result. Cruz continued to throw power punches, including his signature overhand right, but Vargas was able to avoid any devastating blows. It was the 36-year-old Vargas who was the more active fighter, throwing 586 punches compared to Cruz’s 548. However, Cruz out-landed Vargas 188-148 and landed 43 percent of his power shots en route to the victory.
“We proved to be in top shape, our conditioning paid off,” Cruz continued. “I think fans were happy, because this is what all of Mexico and the Toyota Center wanted to see. I think Vargas held on to me more than he’s used to and couldn’t put on the show he usually does, and we couldn’t counter that. However, I value the fact that I learned that lesson.”
Cruz consistently led with his head, resulting in a number of head clashes, including in the eventful 10th and final round which led to a significant cut over Vargas’ right eye that the Mexican warrior fought through. In the final minute of the fight, Cruz sent Vargas to the canvas for just the second time in his career with a barrage of punches, topping off an impressive performance.
Leo gets by Alameda:
In a highly competitive and entertaining opening bout, former world champion Angelo Leo (21-1, 9 KOs) earned a hard-fought majority decision over Aaron Alameda (25-2, 13 KOs). The judges scored the fight 98-92, 96-94 and 95-95.
“I knew it was a close fight,” said the 27-year-old Leo. “Aaron Alameda is a tough fighter. He has 25 wins for a reason so I knew it was going to be a tough fight. I think I landed more blows. I was the busier fighter. He didn’t throw as much as me and I was the more active fighter.”
Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Leo, who fights out of the Mayweather Promotions stable, impressed the judges by holding a 200-175 edge in power punches landed and by connecting on 85 body shots compared to just 15 for Alameda. In the all-action affair, the two combatants combined to land 402 punches and were within 20 punches landed of each other when the final bell rang.
“The fans spoke, and they make the best judges,” said Alameda, referencing the loud boos that rained down after Jimmy Lennon Jr. announced the judges’ decision. “I felt like I won tonight, I think people saw it that way too even if the judges didn’t. Maybe the fact that he was the champion and the favorite coming in played a role in the decision, but I felt like I did what was necessary to win that fight and felt really good throughout.”
Leo, who dropped his WBO belt when he lost a decision to unbeaten Stephen Fulton Jr. in September, successfully began his re-ascent to another world title opportunity. Despite the loss, Mexico’s Alameda proved that he belongs in the upper echelon of the red hot 122-pound division.
Photos: Esther Lin/SHOWTIME
