When it comes to looking past a fight, normally fighters are advised to focus on their current fight instead of a potential superfight next to avoid a letdown. For middleweight contender Jermall Charlo, he’s embracing the fact that he could be facing the winner of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin rematch.
Charlo will first face Hugo Centeno Jr. for the interim WBC middleweight title on the undercard of the Deontay Wilder vs. Luis Ortiz fight on March 3. The winner of that fight could be facing the winner of Alvarez vs. Golovkin rematch taking place on May 5, but Charlo is already looking forward to having that fight after the fight against Centeno. Charlo told Fightful that he’s embracing the potential of fighting the future unified middleweight champion.
“You look forward to it. That’s what I’m preparing for. If I look at it as, ‘Oh, Hugo might be a great fighter.’ Well that’s the same thing I saw about Canelo and GGG. I don’t not look forward to those big fights. I look forward to the big fights and fight the best. Hugo is in the way and I have to make it a fact that he’s in my way. I’m not worried about anything, I’m just ready to fight,” Charlo said.
When it comes to Centeno, Charlo is facing a boxer who is 26-1 as a pro, but Charlo is not interested in talking much about his opponent and how Centeno compares to Charlo’s past opponents such as Austin Trout, Cornelius Bundrage and Jorge Sebastian Heiland.
“He’s another fighter. He’s been fighting all his life. He’s got 26 wins. What do you want me to do? Respect him? I’m going into the fight and putting my life on the line. I don’t give a sh*t about what do you all think or say anything about me. I’m happy as sh*t and I’m ready to fight,” Charlo said.
Charlo vs. Centeno will be the co-feature of the March 3 boxing card from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and will be televised live on Showtime.
