Jermall Charlo Dominates Jose Benavídez Jr. In Impressive Comeback Performance
Jermall Charlo made a successful comeback to the sport after more than two years out to defeat Jose Benavidez Jr. via a unanimous decision: 98-92, 99-91, 100-90.
There was much anticipation heading into the fight, given that Charlo had missed weight. The American hit the scales at 164.4 pounds, after which he returned to weigh in at 164.6 pounds for a fight that was at 163 pounds. This led to question marks over whether or not Charlo would be the same. The start of the fight did not bode well as Benavidez Jr. targeted Charlo’s body by pressing the action. Charlo, however, landed with an uppercut to warn his opponent.
Lively Start
Charlo’s confidence grew from that uppercut as his jab worked well. Benavidez Jr., however, remained undeterred by continuing to walk forward. That proved problematic, with Charlo landing another uppercut. Benavidez responded with some firepower of his own with a left and a right hand combination.
Once again, Charlo refused to back down as he connected with his right hand. As things heated up, the referee warned Benavidez, who threw a left to Charlo’s body after the bell had rang at the end of the fourth following a clinch. One thing for sure was that the WBC middleweight champion had no ring rust, with his jab working well.
Charlo’s Jab
In the second half of the fight, Charlo imposed his will on his opponent. The body shots slowed down Benavidez, with the latter feeling the extra weight after having come up from junior middleweight. And so it showed as Benavidez’s eye swelled up further. And with the fighter behind on the scorecards, both threw pouches in the final round with the two exchanging verbals at the bell. However, it was, in truth, a comfortable win for Charlo in the end: 98-92, 99-91, 100-90.
Post-Fight Comments
“I’ll be back stronger, just know that. I thought about everything that I’ve been through every round. God’s got me. I really want to thank the WBC for standing with me and going through what I went through with me, Mauricio [Sulaimán] and the whole team. I want to thank everybody who never left my side. I want to thank Al Haymon for understanding me. I know when you’re a man it’s hard to explain to somebody what you stand for, but I’m happy that I went through what I went through because I showed myself that anything can be done. And it is what it is.
“This division right here [is the most comfortable for me]. Whatever division I’m in, I’m going to conquer it. I’m going to do what I have to do. Bring me to the best place. I promise my fans are the people of boxing. To the people of boxing, I’ll be back. I’ll give you all more fights in 2024. I’m motivated by boos so keep booing. Shoutout to the Benavidez family,” Charlo
Benavidez Reacts
“He’s a good fighter, I’m not going to make any excuses. I came to fight. He said he was going to back me up and I didn’t back up. I kept coming forward. The best man won tonight. It’s boxing. I thought it was way closer than the judges’ said it was. At the end of the day I lost, and I’m not going to make any excuses.
“I don’t know if his extra weight had anything to do with it. Maybe. Maybe not. I came prepared. I gave my best. I’m going to take some time off – it’s the holidays. Of course, I’d like to run it back at the actual weight. At 160. If you weigh me right now I’m probably 165, and he still can’t do s—t to me. It’s all good. I’m not worried about it. I gave it my all, and I came up short,” Benavidez Jr.
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