WBC junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo took part in a media event with his opponent and WBA and IBF champion Jeison Rosario.
On Saturday, Sept. 26, WBC junior middleweight boxing champion Jermell Charlo meets WBA and IBF titleholder Jeison Rosario (20-1-1, 14 KOs) for overwhelming control of the division. Both boxers were present during a Zoom media conference on Sept. 1.
Charlo (33-1, 17 KOs) and his twin brother, WBC middleweight champion Jermall, are headlining separate championship bouts organized in a unique two-part pay-per-view format.
FanSided previously outlined part one of the event, but Charlo vs. Rosario will be the main event of part two. Also included are undercards featuring former IBF and WBA super bantamweight champion Daniel Roman vs. Juan Carlos Payano, who is a former WBA bantamweight titleholder.
The second undercard matchup features former WBC bantamweight champion Luis Nery vs. Aaron Alameda. Nery is fighting as a junior featherweight after past struggles attempting to make weight as a bantamweight.
Here are the highlights of the Charlo vs. Rosario media conference.
Jermell Charlo quotes
“Congratulations to Rosario for getting the chance to move up to this level. But I know what I possess in the ring when I choose to let it out of me. I’m more ready for this fight than any fight I’ve ever had.
“My legacy is on the line. I feed my family this way. It’s not about what we’re going to say. It’s no secret about how I fight. I’m dangerous, and I feel even more dangerous now. I’m excited to go 12 rounds. My capacity and skills are exceeding all of these guys in the division. I’m way hungrier now. The fire has been lit in me.
“Me and my brother have always been doubted. As I mature, I don’t care about what anyone on the outside says. I don’t care who makes the rankings. My job is to box. That was once my hobby. I’ve been doing this forever, and I’ve grown into this. I’m a different animal. Just like Rosario had to come up the levels, I did that as well. I’m maintaining where I’m at because of my hard work and the way I fight. All you have to do is put me out there, and I’m going to go get it for you.”
Jeison Rosario quotes
“I am even hungrier now than I was before I won the titles. I’m more motivated. The desire inside of me and the fire inside of me is burning to win this fight against a great fighter in Jermell Charlo. Like the Dominican people say, ‘we have to keep moving forward,’ and that’s what I plan to do in this fight.
“One thing that has changed since my loss to Nathaniel Gallimore in 2017 is my maturity. As the fights get bigger and more important, I definitely stepped up to the occasion and to the challenge. I’m training harder, and there is more focus on this fight coming up.
“I consider this to be my time. Empires fall. Presidents fall. Kingdoms fall. It’s all very interesting because under Charlo’s brand, you have the lion, and you have the hunter and all that. But during the fight, you’re going to find out who really is the hunter. I’m a warrior, and we’re going to see that night who really is the hunter and who is the one that’s going to be hunted.”
Undercard quotes and fight information
Roman and Payano both joined the Zoom media conference. Roman (27-3-1, 10 KOs) lost a close decision to Murodjon Akhmadaliev in January.
“The goal is to get back to the world title, but I’m not overlooking Payano,” said Roman. “He’s a quality fighter. We have to get past him, and then hopefully, we can get the rematch with Murodjon Akhmadaliev.”
Payano (21-3, 9 KOs) at 36 years old, is coming off a 2019 knockout loss to Nery.
“We committed errors in those two fights we lost to Inoue and Nery where they took me down, but we’ve come in prepared knowing that we are fighting another good fighter in Danny Roman, and we have really prepared well so that it doesn’t happen again,” said Payano. “You do learn from your errors in these fights, so that’s why when I come out, you’ll see a different Juan Carlos Payano on September 26.”
Nery (30-0, 24 KOs) wasn’t on the call, but his opponent Alameda (25-0, 13 KOs) was present.
“This is definitely a step-up for me, we aren’t denying that,” said Alameda. “But strategically, we have worked on certain things that we know are going to help come fight night,” said Alameda. “We’ve seen a lot of video on Luis Nery and learned how we need to approach this fight. We’ve seen a couple things that we can do, and that’s what we’re going to do on September 26.”
Part one of Showtime and PBC’s pay-per-view fight card will feature Jermall Charlo vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko at 7 p.m. ET. After that matchup, there will be a 30-minute intermission followed by the matchups discussed here, ending with Jermell Charlo vs. Rosario for junior middleweight supremacy.