Via Jim Calfa: Paulie Malignaggi is excited by the news that Canelo Alvarez and Jermall Charlo are in talks to fight in May in the super middle division.
Malignaggi feels this is a great match and he thinks Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) is talented enough to beat Canelo. Jermall is a “big threat” to Canelo, says Paulie, and he is very dangerous to the Mexican star.
Canelo was in talks to play WBC cruiser class champion Ilunga Makabu on May 7 during the Cinco de Mayo break, but he changed his mind.
Malignaggi believes Canelo is choosing to go in Jermall’s direction as Premier Boxing Champions’ Al Haymon has the potential to make a huge offer.
The fight hasn’t been officially announced yet, so there’s always a chance it won’t happen. Given the interest from fans in the Canelo-Charlo fight, Canelo would be insane if he didn’t fight him next Jermall.
If it goes through, Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) will defend his four super-middleweight titles against Charlo, who will move up the weight ladder from 160 lb.
Coppinger reports on negotiations between Canelo and Jermall
“I am listening to memost likely he will fight Jermall Charlo on Cinco de Mayo. There are currently talks for that fight,” Mike Coppinger of ESPN on Canelo said during talks to counter Jermall.
“And if he’s going to be promoted to cruiser, I think that’s going to be a mistake. Watch the cautionary tale of Roy Jones Jr. Jones went to heavyweight and beat John Ruiz,” Coppinger said.
It comes as a shock that Canelo seems to have changed his mind about fighting Makabu next and going after the fight with Jermall instead.
Malignaggi chooses Jermall to defeat Canelo
“I love this fight. I have to be honest. I love this fight,” Paulie Malignaggi told Paulie TV in the clash Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermall Charlo.
“It is something to wake up to. I must say that Jermall Charlo is one of the people I can see beating Canelo, brother.
Now, where do I put my money because I’m the one who says Jermall and [Demetrius] Andrade. I think his going through his prime is not as much of a threat as he used to be for Canelo.
“But Jermall is a big threat, and I feel Jermall will beat Canelo. Now the wars will happen. What do you know? Huge props for Canelo to do battle as this is who I choose to defeat him if they fight.
“I will give Canelo even bigger props if he beats Jermall. See because I picked Jermall to beat Canelo, and I had to stick with my original guns. I couldn’t withdraw myself,” Malignaggi said.
Malignaggi witnesses what many boxing fans see in Jermall in terms of his strength, counterattacks, size, and boxing prowess. Charlo can do it all, and he has a nice chin.
If Jermall wasn’t a super-talent, Gennadiy Golovkin would have been fighting him for a longer time than wasting his time against Kamil Szeremeta, Steve Rolls and Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
Paulie impressed with Charlo
“He’s just super, super sharp,” said Malignaggi when asked what was so special about Jermall Charlo that impressed him. “When Jermall came in, he was super, super sharp.
“He’s counter-attacking, and he has power. He’s a good fighter, man. I am very excited. This is crazy. I’m still dealing with this fight. They better not come up with any COVID crap to push back this war.
“This war is better off happening. I don’t want nothing to get in the way now. I don’t want anything to get in the way. This war must happen. This is a big announcement. It had to be a Texas fight because Jermall was from Texas, and Canelo sold well in Texas too.
“I would say it has to be a Texas fight, although the Texas assessment does work here. But then again, we saw Las Vegas appreciate Canelo’s fights with the first Golovkin fight. I do not know.
“I guess just put it in Texas. My initial instinct was to say put it in Texas. It was probably a better fight than in Texas. That’s right. Canelo intended to fight Makabu, and then they didn’t,” Malignaggi said.
At issue is whether Canelo will agree to fight Jermall in his home state of Texas, even though he has fought there in the past and drawn crowds.
In the end, Canelo wouldn’t want a chance to find himself when he received a suspicious score in Texas. Canelo will insist on staging the fight in Las Vegas, and Jermall will need to agree to that if he wants the fight.
Haymon spent a lot of money?
“Al Haymon [of PBC] must have walked in and spent a lot of money, man,” Malignaggi said. “It has to be like that. What do you think? I’m just dealing with this. I’m thinking big when I get all this information. Canelo at the WBC convention mentioned that he would fight Makabu.
“How miserable is Makabu right now. He lost money on a big payday. Macabu went from fighting Canelo for all the marbles to playing against TV against a compulsion. WBC will allow war with Canelo [for Makabu].
“They said it at the convention, so you can’t even say it’s your obligation. The problem is that Haymon probably spent extra money to land the fight with Charlo.
“You know what? You have to give credit. Even with Haymon, you have to give credit. It’s being done right by your fighter. That’s really, really important. Charlo and Canelo. It’s at 168? Malignaggi said.
It would make sense if Top Boxing Champion Al Haymon made a big offer to get Canelo against Jermall. PBC lured Canelo against former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant last November on SHOWTIME PPV.
If PBC is willing to spend money to bring Canelo to Showtime to fight Plant, it makes perfect sense for them to spend huge amounts of money to bring him back to fight Charlo.
