Saturday Night at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut the Charlo Brothers will headline a co-main event card. Jermall Charlo faces top contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko. While the co-main event will see Jermall’s twin brother, WBC Super Welterweight Champion Jermell Charlo in a unification matchup against IBF and WBA 154-pound champion Jeison Rosari. The card is presented by Premier Boxing Champions and something of a rarity, if not altogether unprecedented. Why? Read on to find out.
Champion Siblings on Same Card
The Charlo brothers are what promoters dream of. In this case we have a set of twin brothers, born a mere minute apart. They are both world champions. They are both in their prime. The brothers also have virtually unblemished records. Jermall is undefeated at 30-0, while Jermell has only one loss in 34 fights, which was subsequently avenged. A compelling angle if there were any for a promoter to sell a fighter and his fights.
Yet, recognition among the casual sports fan has thus far eluded the Charlo brothers. In the case of middleweight Jermall, perhaps it is because he has fought in star studded division with the likes of Canelo and GGG. As such, the focus and the sport’s political lines have favored such stars. Yet, with Canelo sidelined and GGG on the back nine of his career. Conventional wisdom says the time is now for Jermall to make his stand. Perhaps a dramatic attention-grabbing victory will get the attention of the Canelo’s of the world. As for Jermell, perhaps it was the sole defeat, or that his division is void of any Madison Avenue fighter the casual fan wants to see. Unlike the welterweight division which is packed with high profile talent such as Errol Spence, Manny Pacquiao and or a Keith Thurman.
In any event, the twins seem non-plussed by it all. At the presser for Saturday night, Jermall stated, “This is just the beginning for me. There’s been 30 fighters who’ve tried to beat me, and all 30 failed. We’ll get a chance to get in there and do what we do best on Saturday. Talk is cheap. We’ll see where that green belt goes on Saturday. This is like the Super Bowl for us. At the end of the day, we’re always ready to fight. This is what we do, and this is what we prepare ourselves for. We’re true warriors.”
Jermell seems equally confident that Saturday will be a coming out party of sorts. “People will say that they can’t wait to see us fight again after Saturday. We come to fight. We prepared all our life for this. Now is our time. The big dogs are here to stay. We’re veterans in this game and we love this sport. To make it to this stage, there’s nothing bigger for us. This is our Super Bowl. This is our national championship. It’s time for us to go get our belts.”
Five Title Bouts on One Card
If the unprecented nature of twin brothers defending their titles were not enough, PBC will be holding an additional three title bouts on the card. To have a pay-per-view event stack with this volume of title bouts is a rarity. Customarily promoters like to stretch out their championship schedule. After all, it makes better business sense. However, such practice has hindered the viability of the sport. Many fans already bemoan the price tag of a pay-per-view fight.
Yet, in this card goes against tradition. Maybe PBC is simply doing what’s good for boxing. Perhaps it’s the recent absence of fights altogether given the pandemic that has the company making up for lost time. Either way, were sure fans will take it.
What are these fights? Aside from the Charlo brothers the card will see WBA Super Bantamweight Champion Brandon Figueroa defending his title against 122-pound contender Damien Vázquez plus WBO Bantamweight World Champion John Riel Casimero battling unbeaten Duke Micah in the pay-per-view opener.
Following a 30-minute intermission at the conclusion of Charlo vs. Derevyanchenko, the three-fight Charlo vs. Rosario card will begin. Unbeaten former champion Luis Nery takes on undefeated Aaron Alameda for the vacant WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship, while former unified champion Danny Román duels former champion Juan Carlos Payano in a WBC Super Bantamweight title eliminator kicking off the second portion of the pay-per-view.
The Charlo Brothers Doubleheader airs Saturday on Showtime Pay-Per-View starting at 7p.m. EST.