Jermell and Jermall Charlo: Boxing twins share fight card, lofty goals
LAS VEGAS - Jermell and Jermall Charlo were presented with a giant chocolate cake on stage at Thursday's news conference, but the twin brothers were in no mood to celebrate their 26th birthday.
That will have to wait for Sunday, when they hope they will not only commemorate one more year on this earth but realize a jointly held lifelong dream.
The undefeated duo from Houston were chippy as they discussed their junior middleweight title fights Saturday at The Cosmopolitan, part of a Showtime-televised tripleheader (9 p.m. ET). If both are victorious, they'll become the first twin brothers to hold championships simultaneously in the same weight class.
"The Galaxy brothers were great, but they were nothing like us," said Jermall, referring to the siblings from Thailand who held titles at the same time in 1980s. "This time around, this era, you all get a chance to enjoy us. Me and my twin brother worked very hard to become who we are now, and we're going to reign at this level."
First, though, they must take care of business.
Jermall, who is older by one minute, has the IBF belt around his waist, but faces his toughest test yet in Austin Trout, who owns a victory against Miguel Cotto and a hotly disputed loss to Canelo Alvarez.
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Trout (30-2, 17 KOs) possesses a tricky, southpaw style, and his experience dwarfs Jermall's. The 30-year-old boasted about the gap, and Jermall took great offense.
"A guy like Austin Trout, he disrespected me," Jermall (23-0, 18 KOs) said. "He thinks I'm a little boy, but my little-man syndrome is going to come out."
Jermell will challenge for his first title when he meets John Jackson for the vacant WBC belt in the televised opener.
Jackson (20-2, 15 KOs), the son of former champion and all-time puncher Julian Jackson, is a sizable underdog (as is Trout), but packs big power like his dad. He's the only one of the six fighters on Saturday's broadcast who is not ranked in Paste BN's top 10 at junior middleweight.
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"His daddy had some knockout power, but who says I don't?" Jermell asked, adding that he would demolish Julian. "We've been disrespected. If you disrespect me, I will punch you in the face. I will snap.
"It's our time, there's nothing more that we can say. We're at the top and we going to stay here. (Saturday) will open the door for a lot to come. Me and my twin brother both feel like we belong here; we just don't get the credit that we deserve."
Said Jermall, "We both do different things, but we both do the same things. We both have the same power, the same speed, the same style."
They used to train together, along with Erislandy Lara, who fights in Saturday's main event vs. Vanes Martirosyan, at Ronnie Shield's Plex Boxing Gym in Texas. But last year, Jermell departed to work with Derrick James, who also coaches rising welterweight star Errol Spence.
Victories would net the brothers half of the title in the 154-pound division, but no matter what heights they reach, they both vow never to fight each other. Besides, Jermall plans to jump to 160 after he faces mandatory contender Julian Williams in the fall.
Though they are best friends, naturally, they want to top each other Saturday night. Jermall says that will make it worse for their opponents.
"My motivation is through my brother," Jermell said. "He's a champion. I'm happy to say, 'Man, my brother did that.'
"Fighting at this weight class, being a champion at this weight class … this is one of the toughest divisions, this has always been one of the toughest divisions throughout history. So we're making history. This is awesome."
(Photo of Jermell, left, and Jermall Charlo, by Stephanie Trapp, PBC)