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By: Hans Themistode
Two division world champion and current WBC Middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo has made one hell of an impression whenever he steps foot inside of the ring. He blasted out former champion Cornelius Bundrage back in 2015 for the IBF Jr Middleweight strap and quickly followed that up with back to back wins over Julian Williams and Austin Trout.
It took him only three fights to call himself a champion once again when he moved up to the land of the Middleweights in 2017. Winning the interim WBC title against Hugo Centeno Jr before ultimately getting elevated to full champion status in mid 2019. He may hold a record of 30-0 with 22 knockouts, but current WBA interim Middleweight title holder Chris Eubank Jr isn’t believing the hype.
“Nothing impresses me,” Eubank told co-hosts Kenneth Bouhairie and Michael Rosenthal. “He hasn’t fought anybody of note. And, you know, I saw a hell of a lot of weaknesses in his ability when he fought [Matt] Korobov. You know, that’s a fight that I believe I would win comfortably.”
Ironically enough, both men were last seen in the ring on the same night. Charlo pounded Dennis Hogan for seven rounds until the referee mercifully called off the contest. Eubank Jr on the other hand, somewhat lucked up in his matchup against the previously mentioned Mat Korobov.
Eubank Jr came into that contest as a heavy favorite, but Korobov made the first round look easy, boxing circles around his man. Things took a turn for the worst for Korobov when he seemed to dislocate his shoulder in the second round. Eubank Jr reluctantly accepted the victory and the Middleweight title. But don’t expect to see him in a rematch. He now has his eyes set on bigger and better things, including Jermall Charlo and his WBC title.
“Any man who’s got a belt in the middleweight division is fully on my radar,” Eubank said. “And [Charlo] has one of the belts. So, that is definitely a fight that I’m looking to get, you know, this year, hopefully.”
