loading…
WBC (World Boxing Council) President Mauricio Sulaiman refused to remove Jermall Charlo’s middleweight championship belt. Houston, Texas, Jermall Charlo returned to action last month for the first time in nearly two and a half years with a unanimous decision victory over Jose Benavidez Jr. in a 10 round fight with a body weight of 73.9 kg. (However, Charlo was over 75 kg and had to negotiate a fee with Jose Benavidez Jr. for the fight to go ahead).
Jermall Charlo is experiencing serious mental health problems during his break, including a dispute with his twin brother, Jermell, the former undisputed 69.8 kilogram world champion. (Jermell was conspicuously absent from ringside for his brother’s comeback fight against Jose Benavidez Jr.).
Jermall Charlo remained the WBC titleholder throughout the period, and received repeated assurances from WBC president, Mauricio Sulaiman Jr, that his organization would not strip him of the title. But many observers and fans took issue with Sulaiman’s leniency as he appeared to be breaking the WBC’s own rules regarding inactive champions, and how, in Charlo’s case, the top contender in the WBC’s middleweight division, Carlos Adames, was suffering.
This situation looks funny to some people because Charlo has indicated that he will move up a division for his next fight, not to mention Charlo’s attitude which seems to belittle his middleweight world championship belt. In an interview with several reporters, Sulaiman gave a full defense of Charlo when asked why Charlo was not made “champion in the break” among other actions that might not have hindered the division’s development.
“It’s easy to evaluate when you look back. Especially Charlo, he had a contracted match when he injured his hand,” said Sulaiman. “You can take a whole period, six months, a whole period, because he was going to fight. Then he got injured and we ordered an interim and then he had a mental breakdown. I’m not going to fight (Charlo).”
“I’m very proud that we stood firm with Charlo. We had a very personal conversation where he basically said, ‘Don’t take away from me the only thing that keeps me alive, being a champion. In this particular case, I don’t regret it one bit. We will decide whether he stays at 72.5 kg or not, and we will move on.”
Regarding Adames, Sulaiman said that he believes the 29-year-old Dominican fighter, despite his difficulties, remains “very happy.” “I understand what you mean, but I think Adames is very happy,” Sulaiman said.
Charlo has been rumored as a potential candidate to face 76.2 kg champion Saul Canelo Alvarez this spring. “He has made a lot of money in this process. He is in a good position to be involved in a very big fight. Overall, I am sure that the decision will be decisive,” he said.
(aww)