Jermell Charlo sought to make his first defense of the WBC 154 pound crown Saturday night at Barclays Center, against fellow Texan Charles Hatley. That he did, conclusively ending the matter with a vicious right hand that sent Hatley pitching face first to the mat.
The stretcher was brought in, because the Don King promoted boxer looked so dazed. But Hatley rose, and the crowd applauded.
He’d been out of the hunt from the start, with a too big and too fast Charlo in command.
Yes, Houston got the better of Dallas on this night….A knockdown in the third, then a knockout in the sixth, Charlo (29-0 with 14 Kos) was the boss in Brooklyn.
Hatley (26-2-1), dazed, missed with a left hook and Charlo had a bead on him. Bang, the right tased him, in round six.
The end came at 32 seconds elapsed.
In the first, Charlo was the advancer. Then Hatley jabbed his way in and backed him off. It was a cautious round, with both looking for countering opps.
In the second, Hatley started faster. Both started jabbing harder and matched jabs. Charlo wanted to land the left hook, led with it, missed with it. A right with eight seconds left sent Hatley reeling back into the ropes. Replay showed it landed on the chest/shoulder with authority.
In the third, Charlo hit the deck, no knockdown. A right then sent Hatley to the mat, as Charlo exploded in and landed flush. Down went Dallas…
To round four..We saw Hatley slide away from the right. His corner told him to “move.” A right clipped him almost flush and crowd hooted. Hatley was too tentative, just surviving, for most of all the round. To 5; Hatley moved, stayed defensive, jabbed some. The crowd gave him the business. Charlo still wanted to add that hook into the mix.
In round six, we saw Hatley go down, and out. A right, ending a nasty flurry, did it.
HERE ARE POSTFIGHT QUOTES:
JERMELL CHARLO:
“I used that jab to set up the right hand,” Charlo said. “I knew Charles Hatley goes down and he gets back up – he’s a warrior – and I knew I had to get in there and be a lion.
“I’m the champ so I have to continue to fight my mandatory. They got a guy named Jarret Hurd that took my brother’s title – we could unify.”
DERRICK JAMES, CHARLO'S TRAINER:
“I thought he gave a phenomenal performance. He did everything we worked on in camp.
“He set him up with the jab and took him out with the right. That is what he needed to do.”
JERMALL CHARLO, BROTHER:
“I'm so proud of my brother. He stayed focused this week and did the right things in the ring.
“He hit the gas when he needed to. He won every round. We are blessed.”