Harrison vs. Charlo II er en højspændingsmatch, der har været i opbygning lige siden slutningen af den første matchup. De to skulle mødes i juni, men omkampen blev udsat, da Harrison fik revet ledbånd efter at have forstuvet sin ankel under træning.
Nu hvor han er helbredt, Harrison er klar til at styrke sit greb om titlen, mens Charlo er klar til at tage tilbage, hvad han mener tilhører ham. The rematch comes just one day short of a full year from the first time the two stepped into ring against each other on FOX.
“After a dramatic and razor thin first fight, Tony Harrison and Jermell Charlo are sure to be at their best on December 21 when they settle their rivalry in a can’t miss rematch,” sagde Tom Brown, Formand for TGB Promotions. “This is the kind of high stakes 50-50 fight that belongs in primetime on FOX and I know that the Southern California boxing fans watching in Ontario will love everything that these two champions bring to the ring.”
Billetter til arrangementet, which is promoted by Lions Only Promotions and TGB Promotions, are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com.
In the first meeting, Harrison deployed a tactical defensive strategy that blunted much of the force of Charlo’s high-powered offense. Intrigen i omkampen er, om Harrison vil være i stand til at bruge en lignende strategi for at forblive mester, eller vil Charlo være i stand til at påtvinge Harrison sin vilje og genvinde titlen.
Den 29-årige Harrison (28-2, 21 KOS) deltog i den første kamp mod Charlo efter at være kommet kort i sit tidligere verdensmestertitelforsøg. Han tabte til Jarrett Hurd i et bud på IBF-titlen i 2017. Harrison, en protegé af den afdøde Emanuel Steward og en indfødt fra Detroit, sprang tilbage med tre stærke forestillinger, herunder en beslutningssejr over den tidligere verdensmester Ishe Smith.
“Forsinkelsen gjorde mig bare endnu mere sulten på vej ind i denne kamp,” Said Harrison. “Ser Charlo natten vi skulle skinne, og forynge sig selv, det opbyggede så meget sult i mig. Jeg er træt af samtalen og støj. Jeg er klar til at gå.
“We’re looking to work smarter this time,” added Harrison. “I think everything I did before worked, but we want to make it even more decisive. The plan is to be more technically sound overall. You may see an early knockout. It’s tense between both parties. I’m pretty sure he wants to knock me out as much as I want to knock him out. Whoever has the best plan will win. But I’m by far the better athlete. Athlete for athlete it’s not even close. I’ll beat him in everything, running, basketball, fodbold. My style is perfect for his style. He’s Shane Mosley to my Vernon Forrest. I’ll beat him every time I face him.”
It was an emotional night for Charlo (32-1, 16 KOS) the first time he fought Harrison. He and his twin brother, Jermall, the WBC Middleweight World Champion, were defending their titles on a FOX PBC Fight Night doubleheader at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Jermell and many ringside observers thought he had done enough to beat Harrison, but the judges saw it differently, handing Harrison a unanimous decision victory and setting up a hotly contested rematch.
A 29-year-old native of Houston, Texas, Charlo, won the title with a knockout victory over John Jackson in 2016. He went on to establish himself as one of the best young finishers in the sport with devastating stoppage victories over Charles Hatley and Erickson Lubin in defense of the title. He scored a majority decision over former world champion Austin Trout before taking on Harrison and most recently scored a knockout victory over Jorge Cota on FOX in June.
“I still feel strongly that I won that first fight and I’m going to do things in a more dominant fashion this time,” Said Charlo. “I’m coming in to this fight being the overpowering, stærk, ferocious Jermell Charlo. Tony Harrison is not on my level. It’s my job on December 21 to prove that and to prove my worth. I’m coming in there mentally focused. When I fought Jorge Cota, that’s a prelim of what’s to be expected from me in the future.
“I want to look for the knockout and set it up,” continued Charlo. “I don’t want it to go the judges. That’s my worst nightmare. If it does go 12 runder, he’s going to be very injured at the end. The loss taught me how to be more patient and to take things step-by-step. Jeg vil vise alle, hvorfor Jermell Charlo er en trussel for hele divisionen på 154 pund. Personligt føler jeg, at jeg er den bedste i divisionen. Jeg er en opgraderet Jermell Charlo, som du ser den 21. december.”
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