By” Sean Crose

So now it’s official: Canelo Alvarez will be squaring off against Jermell Charlo on September 30th. The bout is unique in that Canelo is the undisputed super middleweight champion of the world while Charlo is the undisputed junior middleweight champion of the world. The fight will be promoted by Premier Boxing Champions and will be broadcast live on Showtime pay per view from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In a year that’s seen some terrific matchups, this is another big fight with big names. Indeed, many were surprised that Charlo’s twin brother (and current middleweight titlist) Jermall wasn’t Canelo’s opponent. The choice of Jermell, however, certainly makes things interesting.

At 33 years old, Charlo boasts a record of 35-1-1. That lone defeat, a 2018 decision loss to Tony Harrison, was avenged by the Texan via vicious 11th round knockout a year later. Charlo’s most recent fight was a 10th round knockout of Brian Castano – who he had previously fought to a 2021 draw – this past May. Now the fighter known as “Iron Man” is moving up two divisions to battle the most popular and lauded fighter on earth. While Charlo has had his share of big fights, the impending battle with Canelo will represent the biggest moment of his career.

As for the 33 year old Canelo – the man needs no introduction. After losing a one sided battle with Floyd Mayweather a decade ago, Canelo has gone on to attain true legendary status, winning world titles in numerous divisions and squaring off against the biggest names available. Amir Khan, Erislandy Lara, Miguel Cotto, Gennady Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, Caleb Plant and others have all been bested by the red haired star. The question now, of course, is how well Charlo will perform in the against one of the top (some may argue THE top) fighters of his generation.

Both men are roughly the same age, but Canelo has faced much better names. That’s something in Canelo’s favor, of course, but it also indicates the man may have some wear and tear after all those huge battles. Canelo’s loss to Dmitry Bivol back in May of 2022, made people question whether Canelo was still at his peak or whether he had simply tried to cross a bridge too far by facing a light heavyweight titlist of Bivol’s caliber. Canelo has fought twice since the loss to Bivol, but hasn’t completely answered the question. Charlo, on the other hand, will now find himself facing a naturally bigger opponent. Not only that, but he’ll be facing a naturally bigger opponent with power. Bigger men have fallen to smaller men before in the ring. No doubt Charlo is hoping to make it happen again.

Image: Premier Boxing Champions

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