Jermall Charlo has decided to vacate his IBF Junior Middleweight Title to move up in weight.
Undefeated champion Jermall Charlo relinquished the IBF junior middleweight title this afternoon in order to pursue bigger challenges and another world championship in the middleweight division.
Charlo, 26, who lives and trains in Houston, has a sterling record of 25-0 with 19 KOs. He won the title with a TKO victory over Cornelius Bundrage on Sept. 12, 2015, and successfully defended it three times, defeating Wilky Campfort, former 154-pound champion Austin Trout and top contender Julian Williams. Charlo leaves the division after an impressive KO victory over Williams at the Galen Center on the USC campus in Los Angeles on Dec. 10, 2016.
Charlo’s twin brother, Jermell, still has the WBC 154-pound title and will defend it against Charles Hatley at the MGM National Harbor in Maryland on Saturday, March 11.
“I’ve been thinking about moving to 160 pounds for a while now,” Charlo said. “It was a struggle for me to make the weight for the last title fight. Once I captured the title I defended it immediately, because I wasn’t sure how long I could hold the weight. I held it an extra year to fight Austin Trout and Julian Williams. I feel there are bigger and better things for me at 160 where I can still hold my weight and be stronger. The idea of being a two-time world champion is a big goal for me.
“If there were a big fight at 154 pounds left for me, I’d stick around and wait for it. But there isn’t anything there that can be made quickly. And I wouldn’t fight my brother or my gym mate and close friend, Erislandy Lara.”
Charlo doesn’t anticipate any problems with moving up in weight. He does, however, plan to make his middleweight debut soon. Stay tuned for more info on his next fight.
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