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Who can stop Jermall Charlo? Undefeated boxer Jermall Charlo extends his winning record to 33-0 after defeating Jose Benavidez Jr. The win was the first for WBC middleweight world champion Jermall Charlo after a 30-month absence by defeating Jose Benavidez Jr.
The undefeated WBC middleweight world champion used the jab and body shots to defeat Jose Benavidez Jr. via unanimous decision in a 10 round super middleweight match at the Michelob ULTRA Arena, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Sunday (26/11/2023) morning WIB. Jermall Charlo, who was the favorite, won with a fairly large margin over the judges Max De Luca (100-90), Dave Moretti (99-91) and Zachary Young (98-92).
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Jose Benavidez Jr. of Phoenix (28-3-1, 19 KOs) landed a lot of punches during their fight, but he didn’t have enough power to hurt Charlo, whose chin has always been one of his biggest strengths.
Charlo, 33, is fighting for the first time since he defeated Mexican contender Juan Macias Montiel (23-6-2, 23 KOs) via unanimous decision in June 2021 at the Toyota Center, in Charlo’s hometown of Houston. Charlo caused controversy on Friday by weighing 3.5 kilograms above his contracted weight of 73.9 kilograms.
The WBC middleweight champion officially weighs 75.4 kilograms – five kilograms more than Benavidez, who has a career-high weight of 73.1 kilograms. Their representatives have reached an agreement to continue the fight after Charlo paid Benavidez a fine from his purse. Even though he struggled to weigh in, Charlo remains the 6-1 favorite on Saturday according to betting exchange BetMGM.
Before he stepped into the ring to fight Charlo, the 31-year-old Benavidez had a 1-1-1 record in just three appearances over five years since undisputed welterweight world champion Terence Crawford stopped him in the 12th round of their fight last month. October 2018 to fight for Crawford’s WBO 66.6 kg title at CHI Health Center, in Crawford’s hometown, Omaha, Nebraska.
While trailing far behind on paper, Benavidez spoke harshly to Charlo in the opening minutes of the 10th and final round. Charlo responded with the same words as he threw punches at Benavidez.
Charlo stunned Benavidez with a right hand that cornered Benavidez against the ropes with just 45 seconds left in their fight. About 20 seconds later, referee Harvey Dock grabbed Charlo, spun him around and warned him of a rule-breaking tactic as he tried to escape the clinch.
Charlo hit Benavidez with a hard left hand to the head that sent him down with just 10 seconds remaining in the ninth round. Charlo hit Benavidez with a left hook midway through the ninth round.