Charlo vs Trout
At The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas, Jermall Charlo graduated against a skillful veteran in Austin Trout, going the distance for the first time in his pro career. Charlo, who made the second defense of his IBF strap, left Sin City with his perfect slate clean after turning in a Unanimous Decision. Ringside scores came in at 115-113 and 116-112 twice, while here at Boxing Base we had it a little wider at 118-110.
Like Charlo vs Jackson (below), this was not only an intriguing appetizer prior to headliner Lara vs Martirosyan, but was a worthy world championship encounter. Charlo held his shape very well, looked menacing and economical on the front foot, and continued to look quite the beast at Junior Middleweight thanks to his heavy hands. Ex-champ Trout held his own tonight, catching his stalking foe with occasional leather, but generally didn’t do enough to edge the action.
Charlo was stronger, bigger, and did the more damage overall, swelling the eyes of Trout courtesy of his thudding power shots. Trout was a tough customer throughout, with his elusiveness, experience and speed asking a few questions of Charlo during the championship rounds in particular, but this night belongs to Charlo, without doubt. Charlo now bulks his record to 24 wins, no defeats, 18 knockouts, while Trout drops to 30 wins, 3 defeats, 17 knockouts.
Charlo vs Jackson
It wasn’t all one-way traffic in the Lara vs Martirosyan opener, but Jermell Charlo eventually found the game-changing punch, closing the show in dramatic fashion to capture the vacant WBC Junior Middleweight title. John Jackson proved to be a wily operator as always, doing a whole lot more than holding his own against the unbeaten Charlo, but suffered the second stoppage loss of his career in the 8th round.
Charlo buzzed Jackson with a right hand (which caused Jackson to turn away and dab at his eye), and then connected with two full-blooded left hooks. The referee immediately dove in to save a clearly dazed and defenseless Jackson, and I don’t think anyone would argue with that call. Charlo boxed well tonight, being most affective with the jab and counter-left, but Jackson deserves a lot of credit for his performance tonight.
Jackson’s mobility and ability to set his feet and land combinations – despite being pushed onto the backfoot for the majority of the fight – made him a tall order for Charlo. For the record, Boxing Base had it 67-66 going into the 8th. Charlo now improves to 27 wins, no defeats, 13 knockouts, while Jackson reduces to 20 wins, 3 defeats, 15 knockouts.
Give us your verdict on Charlo vs Trout and Charlo vs Jackson below, plus the impact of both matchups on the Junior Middleweight division.
