Jermall Charlo ready for Juan Macias Montiel and whatever comes next
For those who might be wondering why Jermall Charlo is defending his middleweight title against the relatively anonymous Juan Macias Montiel on Saturday, he asks for your patience. The big fights, he said, will come.
And he pointed out that just because you might not be familiar with Montiel doesn’t mean he’s a capable fighter. For example, all 22 of the Mexican’s victories have come by knockout.
Charlo will take nothing for granted in front of his hometown fans on Juneteenth Day at Toyota Center in Houston.
“Montiel is fearless,” Charlo said. “He’s a fighter that I think deserves a chance. At this point, he understands where he’s at. This is a big fight. A lot of people may not know who Montiel is, just like I didn’t, but he’s a strong fighter.
“The people want to see me get tested, right? I want to see those big fights, too. In a matter of time, they’ll come. But Montiel should be a good fight.”
Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) is coming off arguably his finest performance, a wide unanimous-decision victory over the skillful and rugged Sergiy Derevyanchenko this past September.
Charlo walked into the ring for the fight with a lot of respect. He walked out on some pound-for-pound lists, meaning he climbed to a higher rung on the ladder of public perception. And, of course, he wants to continue his ascent.
A victory over Montiel (22-4-2, 22 KOs) wouldn’t compare to his success against Derevyanchenko, but he can’t let his guard down.
“I’m ready to fight the best in the world,” Charlo said. “I’m the best in the world and I’m not going to let this guy over here stop me. The belt is not going nowhere. The belt is staying right here in ‘H Town.’ There’s nothing he could do about it. Nothing. It’s my belt. It’s my legacy. You’ll find out June 19.
“A fighter like Montiel is challenging to go in there and get the job done real clean and swiftly because if I look bad against a guy like this, they’ll take away from what I did in the Derevyanchenko fight. But, yes, to date, Derevyanchenko was one of my hardest fights, but I made nice work of it and onto the next one.”
What’s next if he beats Montiel?
“I got the belt,” he said. “Champions fight champions. We unify. But if not, we’re not just going to sit back. Those guys that have the belt like Triple-G (Gennadiy Golovkin), Canelo (Alvarez) and (Demetrius) Andrade … the belts are out there, so eventually it will happen.
“I’m not in a rush. I’m young. I’m still having fun. I’m enjoying what I do best. If Triple-G wants this WBC belt, I have it. It’s over here, it’s open. I’m ready to fight.”
