Jermell Charlo is not yet done with the junior middleweight division.
The Ring has confirmed that Charlo has contacted the WBA via email to invoke the rights that come with his “Champion in Recess” status. The move will allow the reigning Ring 154-champion to immediately challenge newly crowned WBA titlist Israil Madrimov.
The development comes as it was learned that Madrimov was in talks for a high-profile title defense. The Ring’s No. 3-rated junior middleweight was linked to a potential showdown versus three-division champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford (40-0-1, 31 KOs). BoxingScene.com reported that talks were underway for a possible August showdown in Los Angeles.
That rumor would line up with a teaser post from Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority featuring Crawford. A photo of the sport’s pound-for-pound king and Ring 147-pound champion was enough to arouse industry-wide interest.
It certainly caught the attention of the division’s recognized king.
Charlo (35-2-1, 19 knockouts) has not fought at the weight since he fully unified the division in May 2022. His knockout win over Brian Castaño brought together the Ring, WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles.
Just one fight has followed since then for Charlo. It came in a failed bid to dethrone Ring and undisputed 168-pound champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs). Charlo moved up two divisions but dropped a landslide decision last September 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In addition to the loss, the fight also cost Charlo the WBO 154-pound title. He was stripped of the belt for failure to defend versus Tim Tszyu, his mandatory challenger at the time.
Charlo then gave up—in order—the IBF, WBC and WBA belts.
Uzbekistan’s Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) picked up the latter in a fifth-round knockout of Magomed Kurbanov on March 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight was formally sanctioned by the WBA at the same time that Charlo was downgraded to ‘Champion in Recess.’ The status is afforded to titleholders not in a position to defend their title, whether through injury or other reasons.
Madrimov had to enforce his title status just to free up the belt earlier this year. He’d previously agreed late last year to a fight versus the unbeaten Kurbanov. Both sides assumed the WBA belt would be at stake, though Charlo hadn’t yet decided on his next move.
The ordered fight helped speed up that process, but Charlo has now expressed interest to remain at the weight he has spent most of his career.
Charlo regained the WBC title in a December 2019 stoppage win over Tony Harrison in Ontario, California. He claimed The Ring championship and added the WBA and IBF belts in a September 2020 knockout of Jeison Rosario. It took two tries to wrest the WBO strap from a then-unbeaten Castaño. The two fought to a draw in July 2021, nine months before Charlo dethroned the squat Argentinean the following May.
Madrimov will have to commit to at least the negotiation process once a mandatory title fight is ordered. It will be up to his team to reach a deal with Charlo, whether for a fight or a step-aside offer. Failure to do so will force the matter to a purse bid hearing.
Meanwhile, Crawford would have to wait out the process or look elsewhere for his next opportunity. He clearly has the backing of the Saudi investors.
What is missing for the moment, however, is a clear shot at a fourth-divisional title.
Crawford remains The Ring, WBA, WBC and IBF welterweight champion. He previously filed to have his WBO ‘Super Champion’ status enforced to contend for the 154-pound belt. Sebastian Fundora won that title as well as the vacant WBC belt in a March 30 decision win over Tszyu.
The WBO was prepared to order a Fundora-Crawford fight on April 5. Those plans were put on hold when Fundora was placed on medical suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The 6’6” junior middleweight suffered a badly broken nose in the fight and is now suspended until September 30.
Bakhram Murtazaliev claimed the vacant IBF 154-pound title earlier this month. The unbeaten Russian knocked out Jack Culcay in the eleventh round of their April 6 title fight in Falkansee, Germany.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
