One day prior to their fight for Canelo Alvarez’s four 168-pound championships, both Jermell Charlo and Alvarez weighed 167.4 pounds on Friday.
On Saturday in Las Vegas, boxing’s biggest name, Alvarez, will make the third defense of his undisputed super middleweight title while Charlo will box over 154 pounds for the first time.
The undisputed junior middleweight champion Charlo, 33, went up 14 pounds for his biggest professional opportunity.
Not even Jermell was the initial challenger for Charlo. First in line to take on Alvarez was his twin brother, Jermall. The larger Charlo, Jermall, is the WBC champion at 160 pounds, although he hasn’t fought since June 2021 due to a personal issue. Jermell then intervened.
“They look the same,” Alvarez, 33, told ESPN on Wednesday. “Same size, same everything. I don’t really care which Charlo brother it is.”
“I think he can handle the weight, too, because he’s taller,” added Alvarez, who is 5-foot-8 while Charlo is 6-foot. “He’s strong. … I think [the extra weight] is going to be good for him. … Maybe he struggled to make 154.”
In a May 2022 rematch, Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) defeated Brian Castano via knockout in the 10th round to claim the undisputed junior middleweight championship. Their initial conflict was a tie.
In January, Charlo was scheduled to defend his undisputed title for the first time against Australian boxing legend Tim Tszyu, but he pulled out due to a fractured left hand he sustained in training.
Alvarez, who is ranked No. 4 pound-for-pound on ESPN, just defeated John Ryder by unanimous decision in May.
