By: Hans Themistode
Jermall Charlo has made his feelings abundantly clear that he is no fan of David Benavidez.
Over the past few months, both sides have taken shots at one another. Recently, however, Benavidez has grown tired of the inconsequential words and has urged Charlo to step inside the ring against him.
Following a seventh-round stoppage win against fringe contender Kyrone Davis on November 13th, a jubilant Benavidez questioned the heart, desire, and willingness of Charlo to face him.
“Does the big Charlo want to get it too?” Asked Benavidez after stopping Davis. “He don’t want to get in the ring with me because he’s a p*ssy that’s why.”
While Benavidez would love to land deleterious blows on the Houston native, he’s more enthralled with the idea of squaring off against pound-for-pound star Canelo Alvarez.
As for Charlo, the 31-year-old WBC middleweight belt holder has stated time and time again that he would move up to the super middleweight division if a matchup against Alvarez can be made. In terms of moving up in weight to take on Benavidez, Charlo has shown little to no interest.
“F*ck Benavidez,” said Charlo on a self-recorded video. “He ain’t even got no belt.”
As for what could be next for the surly knockout artist, he appears to have a bevy of options. In what’s become a consistent theme, WBO middleweight titlist Demetrius Andrade has expressed an interest in unifying titles against Charlo. In addition to the slick former Olympian, Charlo is hoping to finally solidify a showdown against long-reigning middleweight titlist Gennadiy Golovkin.
Outside of his options at 160 pounds, Charlo has also shown a curiosity in a matchup against Caleb Plant. The former IBF super middleweight titlist dropped his world title just a few short weeks ago against Alvarez in a bid to become the division’s first super middleweight champion of all time.