"I fight for my fans. Whenever I'm the ring, I always make sure that my fans are enjoying it and being entertained by me. My style is more about technique, but I still go in like a bull when I want. I keep things different so my opponents don't know what to expect for the remaining rounds. Also, I would never give up. I have the mentality of a dog when I fight. For the fans that don't know me, stay tuned for the next move I make . Every fight, I'm evolving into a better fighter," stated fast-rising undefeated jr. middleweight Jermell Charlo as he talked about his recent win over Larry Smith, his future plans, and much more. Check it out!
JR: What's going on Jermell? How's everything been?
JC: Everything''s been good. I thank God for it. It's been a journey since the last time we spoke. Right now, I'm at a level where I'm an established fighter. You got to take every step and pay attention to all that's around you. You can't overlook things and just move too fast. Right now, I'm at a level where I want that shot, but I know it takes a couple of steps to get there.
JR: Your last fight was against a guy named Larry Smith. Give me a recap of that fight and tell me what was your goal that night.
JC: My goal every night is to dominate and get the opponent out of there. I do plan things out and go in the ring with plan A and B. If I know that a guy is not going to go down, or the pressure that I apply is not making things easier, I switch to plan B, which is to go the distance and show my strength, skills, and ability. The fight with Larry Smith was like a learning lesson to me. He had an arrogant attitude, but I have an attitude when I'm in the ring. I have a strong, mean attitude in the ring. His idea was to go in there and showboat and talk back and forth. For example, as I would walk to my corner, he would say, "If you gonna throw that left hook, throw that left hook!" So at the same time, I knew that I was in there with a tough guy. I was giving it my all and he was still standing. He was talking and responding in a way that other fighters wouldn't. He definitely showed heart.
JR: You're training out of Savannah's Boxing Club. Tell me about the work you have been getting. How is the sparring out there?
JC: My work ethic and the sparring is amazing. I've spared with Tarvis Simms, Kermit Cintron, Mike Lee, Leonard Lane, and a lot of others that are back in the gym. I've been getting all kinds of work. Everybody that I spared with, I make sure that I'm helping them with whatever they got coming up, as well as helping myself. Overall, training back home has been real good.
JR: For the casual boxing fan that hasn't seen you, describe your style?
JC: I fight for my fans. Whenever I'm the ring, I always make sure that my fans are enjoying it and being entertained by me. My style is more about technique, but I still go in like a bull when I want. I keep things different so my opponents don't know what to expect for the remaining rounds. Also, I would never give up. I have the mentality of a dog when I fight. For the fans that don't know me, stay tuned for the next move I make . Every fight, I'm evolving into a better fighter.
JR: You have a twin brother who is also a pro boxer. How does he compare to your style?
JC: Theres a few things that me and my brother do different. What makes us different is my jab. My jab is something that I don't think any other boxers have. I have even heard this from "Sugar" Shane Mosley, Kermit Cintron, Tarvis Simms, and any fighter that I've been in there with. It's a different kind of jab that has power, speed, and consistency. My jab is one of my main weapons. As for my brother, he throws a nice right hand and he throws hard body shots. People will definitely distinguish the difference between me and him. I like to bring it to opponents, whereas my brother is more of a counter puncher.
JR: Now, you're 15-0 (7 KO's). Whats next for you? What do you hope to accomplish in your next fight?
JC: Well, I really can't speak on that right now because I take things day by day. Next time I get in the ring, I want to increase my knockout ratio. Overall, I just want to grow as a fighter. I ultimately want to fight one of those big-name fighters or a veteran fighter that think's he has something left. I want to put fighters like that out of their careers and tell them to sit down or something. Maybe fights like that can lead me up to fight bigger names and younger prospects. For example, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is a future opponent I would like to face. Right now, I'm just working on a few things with my management team back in Houston
JR: Talk about being with Golden Boy Promotions. What have they done for your career?
JC: I mean, Golden Boy Promotions put me where I'm at right now. I appreciate them a lot because they got me fights that got me to this point. Another thing that I appreciate is that they never put me in there with fighters that had double digit loses or walk-in-the-parks. I never had a fight like that. If you look at my record on Boxrec.com, it show that I always had tough fights or fought opponents that are good competition. I know that they just trying to test me out right now, but I'm here to prove to them that I got everything it takes.
JR: You're still a very young fighter, but a year or two down the road, what opponent would you want to fight the most? Are there any guys within the top 15 that you would like to fight in the near future?
JC: There are several guys. For example, I sparred guys like Erislandy Lara, who I felt comfortable with. I have fought guys that could help position me to fight guys like Gabriel Rosado. Me and Gabriel were getting ready to match up, but I don't know what prevented it from actually happening. There's guys like Charles Wittaker, which would have been a big statement fight for me. Also, Carlos Molina was a fighter I was getting ready to match up with. Molina pulled out of fighting me to fight Kermit. I mean, it was understandable that he did that because Kermit is the bigger name. Overall, they were match-ups where I knew that I would step up to the plate and demolish my opponent. Right now, there are guys like Cory Spinks. I feel that I can go in there and possibly shut him down quickly. I respect his style, and I watched him as I grew up, but now is the time for me to take the lead and take that spot. Paul Williams is another guy. I know watching him, I say to myself, "Dude, are you ready to retire? 'Cause I'm here to make you retire." So there are guys like that who I'm looking out for. I'm taking things step by step, and thanking God every day for what I have. I'm ready and I'm going to stay in shape for when opportunitys present themselves.
JR: As a young guy in the game, what has been the ups and downs of boxing?
JC: Well, my biggest ups and down consist of a few things. When Shelly Finkel released all his fighters, it made me feel like, "whoa." I wasn't ready for it. It made me fight harder and think to myself that I can make it without a manager, but then, at the same time, you can't market yourself, and you can't call shots. For example, you can't get on the phone with Golden Boy promotions and talk to them the way you want to. At such a young age, I really don't have the leverage i would like. Its been almost two years of going through issues like that. Now, I'm being taken care of with a good team behind me. I'm with new management and plan to do a lot of new things.
JR: A lot of people would love to see the Klitschkos fight each other, being that they're so dominate. Wladimir and Vitali have been criticized for not fighting one another often times. If you or your brother ever reach that level of superstardom, will you be open to fighting him?
JC: No, we work as team. This idea of fighting my brother never crossed my mind. I mean, we don't even spar each other like that. Like, if you had a twin brother, I can guarantee you that you won't want to fight him. The Klitschkos are close, but I know that they're not as close as me and my brother. We are here to take over together, like Batman and Robin, so we would never get in the ring and fight each other. There were times when we'd play video games back at home and say things like, "Hey, if I was world champion, would you fight me?" My brother would respond like, "Bro, I wouldn't fight you if they gave me a billion dollars." I could never fight my brother in the ring because I come to kill. I don't get in the ring to touch and play around. I come to land punches and to destroy, so why would I ever try to destroy my brother.
JR: Jermell, thank you for you time. Any last things you want to say in closing?
JC: Stay tuned and keep it locked. Follow me on http://twitter.com/TwinCharlo and add me on Facebook.com. I want FightHype.com to continue following me because this will be the website I come to. Whenever I want to call someone out, I'm calling them out through FightHype.com. So we gonna get things off like Floyd Mayweather did with FightHype.com and follow that same path he did with FightHype.com. FightHype.com does keep it real and that's what I like.