Boxing may be a solo sport, but Jermell Charlo is proud of the division in which he operates, which is why he has no qualms about facing the latest fighter to call him out, Danny Garcia.
The WBC, WBA, and IBF 154-pound champion Charlo was asked recently how he felt about taking on longtime welterweight contender Garcia, who recently stated that he is looking to move up to the junior middleweight division soon and would be interested in facing the Houston-based Charlo.
Rather than trot out some excuse about having to prove one’s worth in the division first, Charlo was more than happy to accept the challenge.
“There’s going to be guys moving up, there’s going to be little shuffles and changes that will happen soon in boxing, and if Danny Garcia wanna taste that water it’s okay,” Charlo told Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast. “It’s deep over here in this ocean. Anything like that is not going to put fear into anybody.”
Charlo (34-1, 18 KOs) credited his welcoming attitude to the competitive spirit of the division. Indeed, the 154-pound class has produced one competitive match-up after another. The latest will involve Charlo in a full unification bout against WBO titleholder Brian Castano (17-0-1, 12 KOs) on July 17 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
“We fight each other in this division,” said Charlo. “There are a lot of top-tier fighters that are fighting each other in this division. There’s a lot of guys that don’t mind getting in the ring. We are fearless people in this division. It’s really a dope division to me. That’s why I like to stand strong in this division.”
Still, Charlo made it clear that Garcia (36-3, 21 KOs) would be biting off more than he can chew against him.
“I don’t think nobody can come to this weight division and f— with me,” Charlo continued. “I’m that guy in this weight division. I got skills. I’ve been boxing my entire life. If they’ve never been in the ring with me they really can’t say much about me.”
He also thinks Garcia will be much slower at 154, despite the supposed trade off in not having to cut as much weight as a welterweight.
“I don’t understand this action about how [Garcia] don’t have to lose weight,” said Charlo. “To me he was a lot slower at 147 fighting Errol Spence by trying to gain some weight and putting on some power. [Gaining weight] ain’t going to help.”