Jermall Charlo and Jose Benavidez Jr square off on Saturday, November 25 at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. The pair meets in a 10-round non-title bout, serving as the co-feature to David Benavidez vs Demetrius Andrade live on pay-per-view.
Houston, Texas-based undefeated WBC middleweight champion Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) makes his ring return, stepping inside the squared circle for the first time in over two years. In his previous outing in June 2021, the 33-year-old native of Lafayette, Louisiana scored a unanimous decision against Juan Macias Montiel and retained his belt.
“I took a break from social media and got a chance to regroup and make myself better,” said Jermall Charlo at an open workout that kicked off the fight week in Las Vegas. “I’m back. I now have a chance to show everybody the new me.
“I missed my fans. But now I get to go back out there and I have a tough opponent in front of me. He’s real confident. It’s my duty to break him down.
“Jose is different when the cameras come on. Maybe he’s not used to the lights. I don’t know. When I saw him in the elevator earlier, he didn’t say anything. But when he gets in front of the media, he acts different. That’s not me. I keep it solid the whole time. I’ve got him shook. He’s shook right now. He doesn’t know what to expect. He can’t size me up. He doesn’t know where I’m at in my mind. He doesn’t know where I’m at physically. It’s going to be a fight. It’s going to be a war.
“I smell blood. It’s been a while since I got a chance to really hunt and go eat and take my opponent down. I’m going to break him down inside the ring and outside the ring. I’m going to make sure I keep doing what I’m doing. In 2024, I’m going to give you all a lot more action and a lot more Jermall Charlo. I’m the new Jermall.
“I’m going to give the fans what they want. For the rest of my career, it’s going to be about my fans. With how much love they showed me over the years, I’m going to give the fans what they want. If they want to see me fight at 160 pounds and defend the title, I’ll do what I have to do to make the weight and do everything to be at the top of my level. Then I can go to 168 and fight there. I’ll probably move up to light heavy. Whatever the fans want to see me do, I’ll try it.
“Money doesn’t have anything to do with my motivations. I fight for my legacy. This is about me getting back to the best me. I want to be able to give the fans and everyone who supports me the best of me. I get a chance to go in there and I’m ready for war. Just know that. I’m motivated and I’m ready to show everybody.”
‘I’m going to take Charlo out’
Phoenix, Arizona-based 31-year-old Benavidez Jr (28-2-1, 19 KOs) last fought in August when he stopped Sladan Janjanin in the fifth round. In October 2018, the native of Panorama City, California challenged Terence Crawford for the WBO welterweight title, but suffered the defeat via 12th round TKO.
“This is something very special,” said Jose Benavidez Jr. “It’s something we dreamed about as kids. Being in a big arena for this type of event is crazy. To know that we made it and we’re here, proves that all that hard work is paying off. The goal now is just to take on the world. I’m thankful to have my brother and my dad next to me.
“It was great training with my brother. I didn’t have to lose that much weight either. Doing 147 and 154 was just killing me, so now I’m at my natural weight. I feel strong, ready, and me and my brother had a hell of a time sparring. When we’re in the ring, there’s no brothers.
“I feel confident. I’m ready. I’ve never felt like this before. I’m hungry, and I’m going to come to eat. I’ll leave all of the talking in the ring. I don’t really care what Charlo is doing, what people think, I’m ready. I’m going to show him who the real champion is at 160. I’m going to show the world what I’m made of.
“I’ve been in the game since I was six years old. I’ve fought on Manny Pacquiao cards. I’ve fought on Cotto cards. I feel like I’m a vet in the game. At this weight I feel strong. I feel like I finally got my man strength, and I’m ready.
“I’m going to take Charlo out. I’m going to stop him. One hundred percent guaranteed. I’ll put money on it.”
In the main event, undefeated two-time super middleweight champion David Benavidez defends his interim WBC 168-pound title against unbeaten two-division world champion Demetrius Andrade. Also on the card, Subriel Matias defends his IBF super lightweight belt against Shohjahon Ergashev. In addition, Hector Luis Garcia defends his WBA super featherweight strap against Lamont Roach.
In Australia, Benavidez vs Andrade airs on Sunday, November 26 live on Kayo.
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