Jermell Charlo delivers comparisons to twin brother ahead of undisputed bid and reveals plan to move up to 160lbs

Jermell Charlo: "I want undisputed title then move to 160lbs with my brother"

Unified WBC, WBA and IBF World Champion Jermell Charlo and his trainer Derrick James spoke with the press on Saturday at the kickoff press conference for Charlo’s battle against WBO World Champion Brian Castaño for undisputed status at super welterweight. All four 154-pound belts hang in the balance for the first time in history on Saturday, July 17 live on SHOWTIME from AT&T Center in San Antonio in a Premier Boxing Champions event.

The brother of twin Jermall Charlo revealed his delight at the potential of becoming undisputed champion, but wants to move up in weight and take over the 160-pound weight division that his brother is currently fighting in and is a world champion.

He spoke of his confidence and desire to bring home the victory ahead of his the huge battle with Brian Castano at super welterweight, and delivered his verdict on hos his style compares to his flesh and blood.

“Once you lose a fight, that’s the hardest thing. I lost before and it separates me from my twin brother. He’s never lost. He’s an undefeated champion right now. I was an undefeated champion that lost and I had to figure the ropes out. That loss made a big difference for me.

“After I avenged my loss, I came back to fight Jeison Rosario who was supposedly the new guy. We really trained differently for him because he was a bigger guy. But we stayed strong and we got it done.

“I’m excited to be fighting in San Antonio. We’re going to get on the road for three-and-a-half hours, listen to some good R&B music on the way and we’re going to take care of business and have a good time in San Antonio.

“He’s shorter than me. I’m expecting him to try to throw a lot of body shots. Have you ever seen somebody get slept by me? If he runs into the wrong punch, we have a great game plan. We will make the adjustments. We don’t stop. We will continue to do what we do. I’m not afraid of any man. There’s nothing that can stop me right now. I’m all the way up.

“If he’s saying he’s going to make me risk my life, what do you think I’m going to make him do with his? If you make me risk my life, you better be willing to put your life on the line. I’m not the one to play with. I’m not just devastating with my punches. I’m devastating with my mental. There’s nothing he can do to me that I haven’t seen already. I’ve been in boxing way longer than he can even imagine.

“Tonight, on Juneteenth, my brother will show what I’m worth because that’s my twin. Everything he can do, I can do. We are going to do this together. On July 17, when it comes to my fight, I’m working twice as hard as you can even imagine. I’m going to be different. I’m going to be amazing. I will move. I will box. Whatever he wants, I’m with it. Whatever he does, I will take him out of his game plan. That’s my job.

“Brian Castaño is a great fighter. He comes to fight. He doesn’t stop. He does a lot of things that are impressive to the rest of the crowd and I feel that he will fight. He will bang. He will box. He will move back. He will move forward. Lateral movement. Derrick and I have been working hard to prepare for everything. It takes a lot to jump in the ring and become an undisputed champion and with that being said, I’m going to do everything I can in my willpower to win this fight.

“When I win on July 17 and I unify the belts and become undisputed, that’s just another trophy for me. I want to keep it going. I want to win another world title in the same weight class as my brother. We won them at 154. I want to win them at 160. We’re not done.”

His trainer Derrick James also highlighted his pride at his fighter, but insists that his job is to make any adjustments to counter the strengths of Castano on fight night.

He said: "Everything about success is about overcoming adversity. The adversities of training. The adversity of preparing for fights. The heat in Texas is insane, and for him to just continue to push through all of that is impressive.

We know the type of fighter that Brian Castaño is and we’re preparing for the best version of that. He’s a good fighter. A good boxer. Good technically. Jermell is going to show what we’ve been working on and how he’s progressed from his last fight until now. You will see his greatness.

Castaño is a good fighter and you have to respect his abilities. But at the same time, Jermell is more athletic. He’s faster. His athleticism and his intellect will be the difference. Our goal is to be at our best and take away all of Castaño’s attributes. With everything that he does well, my job is to make sure that we don’t get a chance to see how good he is.”

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