Undisputed super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo questioned the motives of the WBO after their announcement to strip him on September 30, once his ring announcement in his fight against Canelo Alvarez had commenced. The WBO’s decision was made after determining that Charlo was avoiding the mandatory contender and WBO interim champion Tim Tszyu, following the announcement of the Canelo-Charlo fight.
In an interview with The Breakfast Club, Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KO’s) clarified his stance on the WBO and the circumstances that led to their decision to strip him: “Since I won a title, the organization has always been on my case,” Jermell Charlo stated.
“I had a hand injury and I had no other choice but to take time off and get my hand right. Opportunities [then] presented themselves, so you know, I just think they just put some haters on me.”
Although Charlo did seem to suffer a hand injury, the WBO itself expanded on the decision they took and detailed how Jermell Charlo, or in this case his promoter Tom Brown from TGB Promotions, delayed Tim Tszyu (23-0, 17 KO’s) an opportunity to fight for the WBO world title.
This was evident even when Brian Castano (17-1-2, 12 KO’s) was still the WBO champion. After Jermell Charlo’s first match with Castano in July of 2021, Tim Tszyu was supposed to face Castano next. However, the potential bout never materialized as both Charlo and Castano aimed for a rematch. The rematch eventually occurred in May of 2022, nearly a year after their first match, but it only happened that late because Charlo’s promoter allegedly stalled and postponed the rematch, which could have taken place within the span of 3-6 months.
The broken hand injury that Charlo suffered was merely one of many postponements attributed to TGB Promotions in the WBO’s official resolution. In essence, Tszyu was prevented from having a world title shot for at least 2 years, which prompted the WBO to strip Jermell Charlo of his title after he chose to face Canelo Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KO’s) instead of Tim Tszyu.
Jermell Charlo also revealed why he chose to face Canelo Alvarez rather than his mandatory Tim Tszyu: “I’m fighting for greatness, so what’s the point of me going in there and knocking the mandatory out first? Because that’s what’s going to happen anyway,” Charlo confidently stated.
“He [Tim Tszyu] is going to get knocked out, and then I’ll pass up that opportunity… Canelo would probably have moved on and fought someone else and all that.”
Jermell Charlo’s decision makes complete sense as he is a prizefighter, but Tom Brown’s alleged continuous postponements of allowing Tim Tszyu a title shot overshadow what was essentially a logical business decision by Charlo.
However, it is still unknown what exact role Charlo played in his promoter’s reported actions of preventing Tszyu from getting a title shot over the span of two years.
