Jermell Charlo’s chances in his upcoming clash with undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez are up for debate, with the boxing world split on whether Charlo has what it takes to overcome the size difference against the Mexican.
Undisputed light middleweight world champion Charlo will move up two weight classes to take on Alvarez, in a fight that ESPN analyst, former world champion and recent hall of fame inductee, Tim Bradley, has labelled a “mismatch.”
When Bradley’s comments were put to Charlo in an interview with Fight Hub TV, ‘Iron Man’ was quick to fire back at the pundit.
“I think Tim Bradley has got a lot of hate towards a lot of things. When you’re daring to be great, you can’t be worrying about Tim Bradley and what he thinks. He’s an ESPN analyst, he don’t know s*** about PBC boxing and what we possess over here.”
“People can have their thoughts and say what they want to say. I’m just focused on me, staying focused on the game plan and working my a** off.”
Charlo is a clear betting underdog in the contest, with the oddsmakers expecting Alvarez to retain his four world titles at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
However, despite being up against one of the best boxers of this generation and likely to be the significantly lighter man on the night, there are some reasons for Charlo to take confidence.
‘Canelo’ is coming off three fairy underwhelming performances against Dimitry Bivol, Gennadiy Golovkin and most recently John Ryder, and there is a growing narrative that the 33 year old is on the decline.