If you’ve looked at the undercard for Benavidez vs Andrade this weekend, and it’s left you asking: Who is Jermall Charlo? Then you’ve come to the right place.
It would be quite easy to have missed out on who exactly Charlo is, considering he’s been out of the ring for two and a half years. This weekend he returns in Las Vegas to take on Jose Benavidez Jr looking to continue his winning ways.
In this piece, we’ll give you the full Jermall Charlo bio so you’ve got the facts and figures on the undefeated boxer.
Who is Jermall Charlo?
The 33-year-old American, known as Hitman, has been considered one of the best boxers in the world over the past few years.
He is the twin brother of fellow professional boxer Jermell Charlo, with the pair separated by just one minute at birth. This weekend’s competitor, Jermall, is the elder of the pair but they have both seen world championship success in their weight classes.
Jermall attempted to qualify for the 2008 Olympics for the US team but unfortunately, a toe injury prevented him from representing his country in Beijing.
This section of the Jermall Charlo bio ends with him finishing his amateur career with 65 wins, before turning professional in 2008.
Jermall Charlo’s Professional Career
With brother Jermell having become professional in 2017, no one was asking who is Jermall Charlo when he joined his twin in the paid ranks in August 2018.
He kicked off his career against Cimmaron Davis, winning by TKO in the second round in the welterweight division.
Amongst his next opponents, Deon Nash and Carlos Garcia were added to the wins in the Jermall Charlo bio, having both been defeated by the younger Charlo previously. Known then as ‘the Future of Boxing,’ the man from Lafayette, Louisiana, won his first 20 fights in the first six years of his career, with only four going the distance.
A unanimous decision over highly rated Michael Finney earned him the spot as mandatory challenger to the IBF light middleweight title, for Cornelius Bundrage’s belt.
He defeated Bundrage, after knocking the champion down three times in the opening three rounds before the referee put a stop to it.
Charlo stopped Wilky Campfort in his first defense but his second title defense was much harder against Austin Trout. The champ got the decision but fans in the arena booed, believing the challenger should have won.
After stopping Julian Williams in his third fight as champion, Charlo vacated his belt and made the move up to middleweight to face Jorge Sebastian Heiland in a title eliminator.
He stopped Heiland late in the fourth round and then beat Hugo Centento Jr in April 2018, to become a two-weight world champion.
Title defenses against Matt Korobov, Brandon Adams, Dennis Hogan, Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Juan Macias Montiel took his record to 32-0 in July 2021.
He cited mental health issues and battles with alcohol and substance abuse as the reasons for his 30-month hiatus. On Saturday, the WBC middleweight champion returns to fight Benavidez Jr in a 10-round fight, in which the title won’t be on the line.
Ryan Sidle is a sports journalist with nearly a decade in the industry. He's been interested in boxing since Mike Tyson vs Frank Bruno and his MMA fandom was sparked by Michael Bisping and Anderson Silva.
