Houston, you have a few problems.
Canelo Alvarez, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs are all random tests of doubt set for destruction according to ‘The Charlo Brothers’.
Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn (PBC on FOX & FOX Deportes @8pm/ET), we’ll fight out if they all deserve the benefit of the doubt.
I was taught to be tactical/ fuck being tactful/ ain’t no turning back in the street’s tabernacle
Beyond any coded rap in a cipher, Jermall or Jermell Charlo probably best personify carnal iterations of Tupac Shakur in a pair of Everlast gloves. As irascible as they are intelligent, you’re likely to spot one of them in NASA gear nearly sending patrons on a Barclays Center elevator into orbit (Jermall) while another attempts to go full hood on Adrien Broner and Gervonta Davis at a weigh-in.
Being their publicist must be an adventure.
No two fighters in the sport possess the kind of villainous aura emanating from the twins since Floyd Mayweather; the kind that potentially translates into a register ringing curiosity from the public because of a desire to see them get KTFO – or – for someone to get KTFO by them.
For anyone who spotted them hanging around “Money” for the Houston community of children last week– don’t expect any change. Unlike Mayweather, The Charlo public demeanor won’t morph into a methodical display of sweet science technique. Unt-uh. They’re coming to get you.
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Clenelo wouldn’t make it– he is not ready/ GGG won’t see them hammers when they get heavy/ That’s why I stay– locked, loaded and ready/ warned Danny ’bout the life of a lion in streets Serengeti
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Talk about kicking ass and taking names. Like lions roaming around the Coliseum that is Gleason’s Gym, virtually no one in the vicinity of 160 was safe from their wrath (including journalists of all sizes, who might want to wear a cup before interviews) when NYF’s own editor in chief Michael Woods caught up with them there. Woodsy could’ve asked Jermall about being punk’d by Jacobs in the bowels of Barclays back in March after Deontay Wilder V Luis Ortiz, but didn’t go there. In fact, neither brother believes anyone from 154 to 168 can stand in the lion’s den with them. At least, that’s the perception. None of those kings are real until they’ve been tested by them. Odd, considering many pundits don’t believe they’ve been tested to date, Saturday night non-withstanding.
You can have faith in your beliefs and still not believe in yourself at all. Conversely, a fighter can have faith in his skills, while still not truly believing he can beat a certain fighter. Imagine Jermall Charlo (27-0, 21 KOs), who sees himself as a God, privately doubting he can beat Willie Monroe Jr while publicly declaring with 100% faith and belief that he’ll destroy Gennady Golovkin. Matt Korobov (28-1, 14 KOs) would probably opine that if something doesn’t make sense it’s not true– deities included. Monroe Jr, extremely confident as early as last week that he’d not just beat Jermall but stop him, became a late scratch replaced by Korobov a few days ago for having a little too much testosterone in his tank according to VADA. Whether Nugenix was the culprit or just plain bullshit served to him on a platter by the business of boxing is something we’ll never know– but it does lead to speculation.
The WBC made the announcement last week that the winner of Charlo/Monroe would then face Gennady Golovkin for the right to challenge Canelo Alvarez for the WBC middleweight championship. Had Monroe Jr remained in play, there’s a slight chance he outboxes Charlo to win the WBC interim title and a rematch with Golovkin. From an analytical point of view, removing Monroe Jr removes any chance of being outslicked and placed in a 2019 form of pugilistic purgatory. By inserting Korobov into the equation (who was already on the undercard to begin with), you get a guy who’s a stalker with physical dimensions and characteristics nearly identical to Golovkin, serving as a perfect preview fight for his next opponent. I’d be surprised if Golovkin (who’s been heavily courted by PBC and Al Haymon) isn’t spotted at ringside.
You can’t really discover a new ocean until you’re at least willing to lose sight of the dock, and WBC super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo (31-0, 15KOs) is a warship Titanic set for sail on Saturday night. But if only to be sunk by crafty war veteran Tony Harrison (27-2), could any of us think of a more vocal bust? Interestingly enough, “Super Bad” was a cocky anointed next star paint jobbing an unheralded Willie Nelson in July 2015 in Tampa, before being struck with a right hand in the 9th round that changed everything. A competitive 9th round KO loss to Jarrett “Swift” Hurd later, and all of a sudden Harrison became journeyman. Not that he is, but that’s the notion. No fighter all week has appeared more confident or more certain of victory than Harrison, making this match-up the evening’s most intriguing.
BOTTOM LINE
Jermall Charlo gets Matt Korobov, a generic Triple G, KTFO within 5. 2019 is already shaping up to be a blockbuster year of action fights, and it was smart of PBC to take the app route with FOX in hopes of competing with DAZN going forward. Fans unfamiliar with Jermall will see a fighter of Julian Jackson framed design with that type of legendary power in his own mind. Faster and sharper than the crude Russian, “The Hitman” will provide dangerous video for Abel Sanchez and Golovkin to survey.
As for Jermell, expect more difficulty for him from Harrison. In fact, were he not trained and nuanced by Derrick James he’d get outclassed. Tony will bring the biggest toolbox to the ring he’s ever seen, which is where the mental toughness inculcated by James will show up. Understanding that a formerly KO’d fighter always looks for the kill shot (not his own, but his opponents’), Jermell will find that shot somewhere after 5 rounds, to set up a most intriguing war with Jarrett… Ya Hurd?
