Jermell Charlo appears to be back in training and ready to resurface in the super welterweight (154 lbs) division after last competing in the weight class during his 2022 undisputed win over then-WBA 154 lbs champion Brian Castano in Argentina.

Posting a video of himself training on Instagram earlier this week, Charlo included a message that signaled his intentions to return to 154 pounds:

“Everybody… [you] know what I’m here for,” Charlo’s message read. “154 [is] mine until I’m [finished].” 

Jermell Charlo last competed in 2023 where he suffered a unanimous decision (UD) loss to Canelo Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KO’s) when he moved up two divisions to face the then-undisputed champion at super middleweight (168 lbs). The defeat came paired with steep criticism surrounding Charlo’s efforts, with his lackluster performance and decision to face Alvarez having been widely disapproved.

Prior to his fight with Alvarez, Charlo would remain out of the ring and public eye for roughly 2 years, eventually culminating in the former undisputed champion losing all his remaining titles as inactivity and issues outside the ring forced the sanctioning bodies to intervene.

Still considered to be a part of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), Jermell Charlo could be arriving at the most opportune time with there being three different champions in the division; WBA champion Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KO’s), WBC & WBO champion Sebastian Fundora (22-1-1, 14 KO’s), and IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KO’s).

Presuming Charlo would be aiming for an instant title shot, as earlier motives indicate, his best chance for an opponent would lie in Fundora who is also aligned with PBC through TGB Promotions ― the same promotion Charlo is with officially. However, with a recent mandate by the WBO for Fundora to face Puerto Rican prospect-turned-mandatory-challenger Xander Zayas (21-0, 13 KO’s), Charlo would likely have to make due with a ranked contender rather than a champion, or wait until their match is completed to face the winner.

While Charlo is still considered the WBA champion-in-recess at 154 pounds, which would put him on the crossroads with Terence Crawford, a fight is unlikely to occur given Crawford is currently expected to face Canelo Alvarez in September.

There are further doubts as to whether Murtazaliev would grant Jermell Charlo the opportunity against Murtazaliev after Charlo dropped his IBF title to avoid facing the Russian champion in 2023, and with Jermell currently not ranked in the top 15 of the IBF’s 154 lbs rankings, the only recourse for a world title fight appears to linger around the WBC title.

In essence, circumstances in the super welterweight division would mean Jermell Charlo would not be able to rely on his reputation as a former undisputed champion and force him to climb his way back up the ladder. With the 154 lbs division currently having no absent of exciting contenders, including the PBC-affiliated Jesus Ramos (23-1, 16 KO’s), plenty of opportunities lay in wait for Charlo to get back to becoming a genuine world title challenger in a relatively short period of time by emulating the merit he displayed that led to him becoming undisputed in 2022.