Unified junior middleweight titlist Jermell Charlo wasn’t about to let Terence Crawford get away with comments he perceived as insolent and arrogant without offering up his own mouthful of invective.

Last month, Crawford, the WBO welterweight titlist, revealed that if he cannot find a way to get in the ring with fellow division beltholder Errol Spence Jr., he would prefer, as a Plan B, to move up to the 154-pound division and face the winner of that division’s title unification bout between Houston’s Jermell Charlo and Argentina’s Brian Castano.

An incensed Charlo, who owns the WBA, WBC, and IBF 154-pound titles, took severe umbrage at Crawford’s seemingly innocuous remarks, saying in a recent interview that the Nebraskan welterweight needs to focus on his own division, particularly Spence, who is a close friend, managerial, and training stablemate of Charlo. Charlo also thinks Crawford needs to tone down his hubris and realize that he is the clear B-side in a potential fight that involves Spence. One reason why the mouthwatering unification bout between Crawford and Spence has not happened yet is that Spence has been adamant that he deserves a bigger share of the financial pot. For Crawford, those terms count as an automatic nonstarter.

“How ‘bout he do what’s best and go fight Errol Spence, then?” Charlo told Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast. “Shut up, take a little bit less money, be quiet, humble yourself, and fight Errol Spence, he a stud. Do what he say, and you might [get the fight].

“Be the challenger sometimes. These people don’t know how to do that. They don't know how to be the challenger. That’s his problem. He thinks he’s too high up on the horse.”

In Charlo’s view, Crawford doesn't have any leverage as it pertains to a fight with Desoto, Texas’ Spence, a sentiment that echoes what a spokesperson for the PBC – the outfit founded by Al Haymon that manages the careers of Charlo and Spence – said in January that Crawford has essentially overpriced himself. Although Crawford is a promotional free agent, he is suing his former promoter, Bob Arum, for breach of contract and racism.

“Bob Arum don’t give a damn about him,” Charlo continued. “Bob Arum told him to his face. He got a lawsuit with his own promoter. You ain't worth sh!t to me, for real. The man didn't really care about you, anyways. You should have just shut up, make the right decisions with the people that love you, and then do what you gotta do. It’s not my fault that you can’t [get fights].”

“They don’t even have a system over there,” Charlo continued. “Errol Spence right now is the most dominant 147-pounder they got. Cuz why? He proved himself. He done beat everybody in the division that he can."

Charlo pointed out how the welterweights with PBC have been better promoted than Crawford, like Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia. Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs), Charlo said, needs to fight those contenders before he can think about coming up to 154.

“They got some studs over there [PBC welterweights],” Charlo said. “Al Haymon only gonna sign the best of the best. You got [Jaron] Ennis, you got [Danny] Garcia, you got [Keith] Thurman, you got people making a name for themselves in your own weight division.

“Sit yo ass in your weight division and see if you can beat one of them.”

As for how a fight would go between Charlo and Crawford? Charlo did not mince words.

“Come f------g with me you gonna get knocked the f--- out,” Charlo said of Crawford. “I’m a knockout artist baby. I ain’t here to play no games. I don’t get paid for overtime.

“I don't see him beating me, with the skills that I have and how hard I really go and how hard I train. He barely doing the stuff that I was doing in 2010.”

Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KO) is scheduled to face WBO 154-pound titlist Castano (17-0-2, 12 KOs) on May  14 on Showtime, according to a previous report by krikya360.com. Their full-unification clash, a rematch of their draw last July, was originally supposed to take place on March 19 in Los Angeles, but Castano reportedly suffered a biceps injury thus leading to a postponement.