LAS VEGAS – Jermall Charlo made a point to remain calm throughout fight week, despite the sharing the stage with Caleb Plant.
His decision to take the high road should not be mistaken, however, for having buried the hatchet with his longtime rival.
In fact, this weekend’s PBC on Prime Video quadruple-header – featuring Plant and Charlo in separate bouts – is designed to lead to a head-on collision later this year. Both need to win on Saturday to move forward with what very much remains a grudge match in waiting.
“I’mma get my lick back, trust me,” Charlo told BoxingScene and other reporters after Thursday’s final pre-fight press conference. “If they set it, I will get my lick back this year.”
Needless to say, Charlo has not at all forgiven nor forgotten about their incident nearly two years ago. The two had to be separated when Plant, 23-2 (14 KOs) – a middle-Tennessee native now based in the greater Las Vegas area – slapped Houston’s Charlo, 33-0 (22 KOs), backstage after the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence July 2023 weigh-in at T-Mobile Arena.
Charlo and Plant have not been in the same setting since that viral moment. In fact, they’ve only fought once each in that span – ten months apart on separate PBC shows in Vegas.
They have now appeared on the same stage twice in the span of just three weeks in the buildup to this event.
Charlo will face Thomas ‘Cornflake’ LaManna, 39-5-1 (18 KOs), this Saturday on Prime Video from Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The scheduled 10-round super middleweight bout serves as the chief support to a show topped by Plant in an interim WBA title defense against Mexico’s Armando Resendiz, 15-2 (11 KOs).
Some words were exchanged during each press conference but never to where the threat of violence entered the equation. Both know what’s at stake and have been more focused on their respective opponents than each other.
“I learned what God really meant when he said to turn the other cheek,” Charlo quipped. “It don’t faze me now. I want my lick back for sure, but I won’t mess up the bag. I won’t blow the bag. I gotta get the money.
“I’d rather fight him in the ring than go to jail. If I slapped his ass today at the press conference, I’ll go to jail.”
Charlo has previously held major titles at junior middleweight and middleweight.
His WBC 160lbs title reign technically lasted five years, though it only featured two years’ worth of title defenses. He hadn’t put the title on the line since a June 2021 win over Juan Macias Montiel before the WBC stripped him of the belt last May.
Just one fight has graced Charlo’s résumé since his last title fight, as injuries, legal issues and a battle with mental health have slowed his career to a crawl. It came in a ten-round, unanimous decision over Jose Benavidez Jnr. in November 2023, four months after his run-in with Plant.
That win also came two months after Jermell Charlo, Jermall’s twin brother, dropped a landslide decision to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, 63-2-2 (39 KOs). Their September 2023 clash saw Jermell move up from junior middleweight in a failed bid to end Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight championship reign.
Jermell Charlo has not fought since that night but was credited as a driving force in getting his brother back on track both on a personal and professional level.
“My brother is one of the main reasons I got back into boxing,” Jermall said of Jermell, his younger twin brother by one minute. “I always drift off a little bit, go off to something else. My brother is always like, ‘hey bro, stay focused.’
“We opened up a gym together, just got back motivated. We talked about moving to [new head trainer] Hylon Williams from Ronnie Shields. You need that drive again. Me and my brother got motivated.”
In the spirit of being a brother’s keeper, the question was posed whether Charlo would enter his own showdown with Alvarez. The matchup would make more sense from a physical standpoint, as he is now a full-fledged super middleweight and Alvarez is a two-time and current undisputed champion at the weight.
Even if it were an option, it wouldn’t happen next and Charlo wants to keep the line moving. Alvarez is due to next face Crawford, reportedly on September 13 from a location to be determined.
Whether an Alvarez-Charlo clash happens down the road remains to be seen. For now, it’s not even close to being a priority – not when there is more pressing unfinished business to handle.
“To be honest with you, I’d rather fight Caleb Plant than Canelo,” Charlo confessed. “To each his own. Say whatever. I’m not ducking nobody or whatever. I’d rather get the Caleb Plant situation handled for the world and the fans. I have to sleep with that.
“The Canelo [fight] is potential for me to better myself. But that [incident] was something that held me back, so I want to take care of that first.”
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on and .