By: Hans Themistode
Jermall Charlo continues to hoot and holler in the direction of David Benavidez. The current WBC middleweight titlist has warned the super middleweight contender on several occasions that he wants to move up in weight and knock him clean out.
Never has Benavidez been one to back away from a challenge so it came as no surprise that he welcomed a showdown against Charlo with open arms. But as Charlo continues to bark in his direction, Benavidez is starting to realize that everything he’s doing is all for show.
“They aren’t calling me out,” said Benavidez during an interview with Fight Hub TV. “They’re talking sh*t for social media. I don’t really be on social media because I make stuff happen in real life.”
Benavidez, 24, is only a few hours away from taking on fringe contender Ronald Ellis at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. With their upcoming showdown pegged as a title eliminator, Benavidez believes he’s just within arms reach of landing a more significant fight. Just who exactly that would be against is a question the former belt holder struggles to answer.
While he admits that a fight with Charlo would be a significant one, he also knows that it takes two to tango. After jumping at the opportunity to face Charlo the moment he was called out, Benavidez slowly began hearing what he believes were excuses and hesitation from the Houston native.
“Charlo said he was going to knock me out and I told him I accept the challenge let’s fight. I’ll knock you the f*ck out. But then he said I needed a Covid vaccine. Then he said he wouldn’t fight anybody under 25. It’s nothing but excuses.”
Even with what Benavidez deems to be “excuses” Charlo continues to point and shout in his direction. Recently, the pugnacious knockout artist suggested a catchweight bout, rather than moving up to the super middleweight division.
In the mind of Benavidez though, that doesn’t make any sense. Charlo has always come off as an aggressive personality and should simply make the move eight pounds north to make things happen. All of that screaming and snarling is unnecessary in his opinion. If Charlo wants to prove that he’s as tough as he says he is, then Benavidez believes he should do less talking and more action.
“If you really want to show me how gangsta you are, see me in the ring. If Charlo wants to grow a set of balls, maybe we can get a fight.”