Jermall Charlo is coming back this Saturday in a no-reward type of fight against the veteran Thomas LaManna on May 31st at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.
Charlo Plant Fight Setup
This is a fight to set up a clash between Charlo, 35, and Caleb Plant. It’s believed that the idea behind that fight, besides business, is to try to entice undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez to fight the winner. That’s doubtful.
Plant is calling this a big fight. He’s not shown much ambition to take risky fights since losing to David Benavidez. Ideally, Caleb should be aiming a lot higher than inactive Jermall, but he’s obviously trying not to get beaten again and mess up his hopes of getting a second Canelo fight.
He looks all of 35 and then some. The four years of inactivity have taken a toll on Charlo physically, and he doesn’t appear capable of beating any of the top 15 contenders.
The former two-division world champion Jermall’s choice of opponent for his comeback fight has led to tons of criticism. LaManna, 33, is nowhere near world level. Charlo could have done a lot better than this.
“I don’t need anger. I’m actually a lot smarter now. I’ll definitely hurt him,” said Jermall Charlo to the media about his opponent Thomas LaManna for this Saturday night in Las Vegas. “Jermall Charlo is coming back. I haven’t missed a beat. Get your popcorn early. Don’t blink. I’m coming to show everyone what I can do.”
Charlo’s Past Title Dodging
What some fans worry about is Jermall getting his hands on one of the world titles and then avoiding making mandatory defenses for years. He did that when he held the WBC middleweight title. For three years, Charlo failed to defend against his mandatory challenge and just chose to fight whoever he pleased.
Charlo told the media yesterday that he’s going to take over the 168-lb division now that he has returned from another one of his two-year layoffs.
Just looking at Jermall and listening to him talk, he doesn’t look capable of regaining his form from his best years of 2015-2020. When Charlo was at his best, he was still struggling when he faced good opposition like Austin Trout and Matt Korobov.
Jermall Charlo: A Cash Grab
It won’t end well for Jermall when he faces Plant next. Not that Plant is a great fighter, but Charlo is too old now, and those four years of sitting inactive in his mansion have taken too much out of him. It’s believed that he’s just coming back to try to get a couple of paydays and weasel a fight out of Canelo Alvarez before disappearing into obscurity.
Last Updated on 05/29/2025
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