Home Boxing News Unified champion Jermell Charlo demands to be ranked pound-for-pound

Unified champion Jermell Charlo demands to be ranked pound-for-pound

Jermell Charlo. Photo credit: Amanda Westcott/Showtime

WBC, WBA and IBF junior middleweight champion Jermell ‘Iron Man’ Charlo 34-1 (18) is frustrated he doesn’t get his props on mythical pound-for-pound lists after unifying three of the four major world titles in the 154-pound weight class.

The 31-year-old Texan claimed the vacant WBC belts against John Jackson five years ago and defended the belt three times before dropping a close decision to Tony Harrison in December 2018. He got his revenge two fights and one year later, knocking out Harrison in the 11th round of another close contest.

Charlo picked up the WBA and IBF straps of Jeison Rosario in September last year by eighth-round knockout.

Next up is a rare four-belt unification bout against WBO champion Brian ‘El Boxi’ Castano 17-0-1 (12) at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on July 17.

Charlo believes he should be getting more credit for his achievements.

“I feel like I should’ve been there. We don’t know who out here making these lists. They can be judgmental and biased,” Charlo said on The Last Stand Podcast with Brian Custer.

“It doesn’t matter for me if they say that I’m not the top, there’s a lot of fighters in this world.

“There’s some guys that don’t even get the recognition that they deserve. There are guys in the top five that’s not even making anywhere close to the money that I’m making.”

Charlo has a tough out in front of him against Castano. The 31-year-old Argentinean delivered a boxing masterclass to dethrone Brazilian southpaw Patrick Teixeira 31-2 (22) by wide unanimous decision and claim the WBO belt in Indio, California in February.

Charlo says he wants to go to war with Castano to entertain the fans.

“If I can land a right clear shot, I don’t know if he can get hit with that many shots or take that type of power I’m going to possess on July 17th, so I don’t want to predict a knockout I just like to have tough wars,” he said.

Charlo would consider a move up in weight to 160-pounds where his twin brother Jermall ‘Hitman’ Charlo 32-0 (22) is the WBC champion if the right fight can be made for the right money.

Kazakh puncher Gennadiy Golovkin 41-1-1 (36) is the IBF champion while Japan’s 2012 Olympic gold medallist Ryota Murata 16-2 (13) is the WBA boss. American Demetrius Andrade 30-0 (18) holds the WBO belt.

“I can be at 154, I can stay here to fight I don’t know [who] the next guys [will be] and just beat everybody up,” Charlo said.

“If the money is making sense, I’ll move up to 160. My twin brother is there and we can accomplish goals together. It all depends on how hungry I am for something like that.

“I stand strong in this weight division and I don’t think nobody can come to this weight division and fuck with me. I’m sorry, I’m that guy in this weight division!”