Can Jermall Charlo Secure A Canelo Fight? Tim Bradley Believes So

Tim Bradley was impressed by Jermall Charlo’s performance last Saturday night against Thomas LaManna and believes he can get a big payday against Canelo Alvarez if he can “stay focused.”

What he means by that is for Charlo (34-0, 23 KOs) to remain active, and not disappear for two years like he’s done twice in the last four years. Charlo, 35, looked slow and appeared to have carried LaManna (39-6-1, 18 KOs).

The two had become friendly during the buildup to their fight. That may have been the reason why Jermall didn’t go for the knockout early.

Key Contenders for Canelo

Bradley didn’t offer any suggestions for who Jermall should fight next to continue sharpening up and creating fan interest. If he wants to get the Canelo fight, he’s going to need to beat these types of contenders:

– Edgar Berlanga
– Hamzah Sheeraz
– Christian Mbilli
– Diego Pacheco
– Bektemir Melikuziev
– Bruno Surace
– Darius Fulghum

“Jermall came back and looked decent in this fight. I expected him to get this knockout win,” said Tim Bradley on his YouTube channel about Jermall Charlo’s performance in his comeback against Thomas LaManna last Saturday night. “He came in shape and got the job done.”

Charlo got the job done, but he didn’t look “decent” in his performance against LaManna. Jermall looked like a shell of the fighter he’d been in 2023 against Jose Benavidez Jr., and he wasn’t impressive in that fight either, coming off a 2.5-year layoff.

Is Canelo Fight Realistic?

“Jermall, if you stay focused, you still got a little bit left in you. You can still do something at 168. You might even pull off that Canelo fight. Think about that—that bag against Canelo. You get on that Turki card. It’s something to think about. If that don’t motivate you and keep you straight, then I don’t know what will,” said Bradley.

Jermall can’t be taken seriously as a potential opponent for Canelo Alvarez, unless he beats one or two top contenders at 168. It’s not enough for him to defeat LaManna and Caleb Plant. That’s not going to work. Plant lost to Armando Resendiz last Saturday night, and it’ll look bad if Charlo fights him next to use as a stepping stone to get a fight against Canelo.