UNBEATEN former 154-pound world champion Jermall Charlo (26-0, 20 KOs) hosted a media workout last week in his hometown of Houston as he prepares for his WBC Interim middleweight world title fight against Hugo Centeno Jr (14-1, 14 KOs) on Saturday, March 3 as part of the undercard for the Wilder-Ortiz showdown.
This comes after the WBC officially ordered an interim middleweight bout as the WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is set to face Canelo Alvarez in their May 5 rematch.
The rest of the division must bide their time as the two stars of the division battle it out for the ultimate crown, and the winner of Charlo and Centeno would theoretically get a fight against the winner from May 5.
Charlo is preparing for March 3 at the Charlo Boxing and Fitness Club in Houston and is confident of moving past Centeno to meet one of either Gennady Golovkin or Canelo Alvarez.
โItโs going to be a tough fight against Hugo Centeno Jr. If he can stand up to my power, weโre going to fight, and itโll be a brutal war,โ Charlo said. โIf he canโt, Iโll take him out in the first round.โ
โHugo Centeno Jr. is another fighter who is in my way. I know heโll come in prepared, but Iโm confident Iโm going to walk out of there with the victory.
โMy goal is to show everybody that Iโm the best middleweight in the world. Iโm going to keep fighting everyone they put in front of me. Iโm going to knock them out one-by-one until Canelo or Golovkin have to face me,โ he added.
Charloโs trainer, Ronnie Shields supports his fighters claims and believes heโs as good as any in the 160-pound division.
โJermall looks great in training camp and we expect him to be at his best comeย March 3. Heโs motivated to put on a good show and prove to everyone heโs a force in this division,โ said Shields.
โHugo Centeno is a quality fighter. Heโs well-trained and has length, so Jermall knows he has to be prepared. Centeno isnโt going to let him win, Jermall is going to have to go in and impose his will on the man.
โI believe Jermall has the talent and determination to beat any of the top middleweights out there. Weโre going to keep working every day so that when the time comes for one of those fights with a Golovkin or Canelo, heโll be prepared to take advantage of the opportunity.โ
Jermall and his twin brother Jermell have looked dangerous in the past few years, Jermall winning the junior middleweight title in September 2015 with three successful defences over Cornelius Bundrage, Wilky Campfort and Julian Williams before leaving the weight class. Brother Jermell still holds the WBC light middleweight champion that he won in 2016.
โWe canโt let Houston down now. My brother and I have made it this far. We canโt stop now. Itโs my turn to put on a spectacular performance onย March 3. Iโm trying to one-up my brotherโs previous performance each time I step in there.โ added Charlo.