Non è che Jermall Charlo sia un introverso o qualcuno che non riesce ad articolare i suoi pensieri. È solo che essere rumoroso, guardami lo showman non fa parte della composizione del campione di 154 libbre.
A causa di tale, poche persone a parte il fratello gemello (e altro detentore del titolo da 154 libbre)
Jermell Charlo sono consapevoli che Jermall Charlo è una persona colta, produttore/ingegnere musicale in erba che ama la buona bistecca e sa firmare il suo nome con entrambe le mani.
Chi è il tuo eroe della boxe??
Tommy Hearns è uno dei miei combattenti preferiti. Cercava sempre di confutare i suoi dubbiosi, e rispetto tutto quello che ha passato. La mia vita e Tommy Hearns’ la vita è simile. Siamo entrambi alti, e aveva un allenatore leggendario in Emanuel Steward, e ne ho uno, troppo, in Ronnie Shields.
Tommy aveva un buon jab ed era un combattente longilineo. Molti pugili pensano che sia facile colpire al corpo i combattenti alti per abbatterli. Ma la storia è diversa quando entrano lì con Tommy, quindi questo mi ha fatto relazionare con lui in quel modo.
C'era anche molta sostanza in Tommy Hearns. Devi essere un combattente intelligente per conoscere la differenza tra rissa e boxe, e come utilizzare la tua gamma.
Di tutti i pugili della storia, contro chi vorresti aver combattuto?, and how would the fight have played out?
Being in the welterweight and junior middleweight range, I would want to see how my style would match up against a guy like Sugar Ray Leonard. I know he fought Tommy Hearns, but I think I possess some different qualities, and I would like to see how I would do against [Leonard] at his best.
I don’t want to say that I would have beat Sugar Ray Leonard, because he’s a great fighter and I wouldn’t want to disrespect him. But out of anybody I could have fought, I would love to match my style against Sugar Ray’s.
I would of course borrow from the Tommy Hearns fight with Sugar Ray Leonard. Every time I watch that classic fight, I picture myself being Hearns.
What’s the hardest you’ve ever been hit, and how you did you deal with it?
You know what’s crazy? It wasn’t even by a punch; it was by a headbutt, and it was actually in my last fight against Austin Trout. Somewhere in those middle rounds, we clashed heads, and his head landed right on I believe the left side of my chin and ear.
I haven’t been hit that hard by any punch or anything, because I do a good job with keeping my hands up and with head movement and stuff like that. But against Trout, he threw a jab, and I stepped over and his head came crashing into my jawline.
He had no clue [that I was stunned], and I fought through it like a champion is supposed to. But that was the hardest shot I’ve taken since my pee-wee football days. I had to check myself to make sure I was good. It was just a shot that woke me up.
When training for a fight, what’s the one meal you miss the most?
It would have to be steak. I’m a filet mignon type of guy. But I have to give that up during training, because it’s one of those red meats that slows me down.
You’re known for being a gym rat. Do you have a favorite exercise?
I like all exercises-anything that’s challenging. But if I had to choose one, my favorite would be working the body bag with [legendary trainer] Creed Fountain. … I’ve watched Creed Fountain do the body bag with Evander Holyfield and a lot of other champions, so it’s kind of become one of my favorite exercises.
What about a favorite punch to throw?
One of my favorites is my left hook. It’s not necessarily to the body, but it’s one of the punches that I grew up throwing and always felt was one of my most challenging shots. I’m very comfortable throwing it, being that I’m right-handed and left-handed.
You mean you’re ambidextrous?
Sì. I actually can write with both hands. I really never knew what my dominant hand was, being that I was strong with both hands. I throw a football and shoot a basketball with my right hand.
But it’s crazy and kind of confusing even to myself. … In una lotta, I can switch to either side. I grew up in a southpaw stance and feeling more comfortable as a left-hander, but then I started fighting from the right-handed side and feeling more comfortable as a right-hander. I’ve used both sides effectively.
Finish this sentence: If not for boxing, Vorrei …
… probably be an educated businessman somewhere making moves in whichever industry I chose. But boxing has saved my life.
What’s the public’s biggest misconception about boxers?
That we’re all big, angry guys who spend their money wildly and aren’t educated. But they’re all wrong.
Do you have a favorite boxing movie?
I generally don’t like boxing movies because of the fake punches. But one movie I really did like was Mani di pietra. I grew up watching the Roccioso serie, so I liked that, troppo. Ma Mani di pietra is one of my favorites.
I like when [the plots of boxing films] get into the lifestyle. When Micky Ward did his movie, Il combattente, a lot of things came out about him that people don’t know. That’s how I am. There are a lot of things that people don’t know about me. Maybe that will change once there is a movie written about the Charlo twins.
Bene, what if Hollywood made a movie about you and your brother, Jermell-what actors would you want playing you two?
Good question. Prima di tutto, we’d have to find some twins with athletic ability. They’d have to be identical. My twin brother and I look alike, but don’t act alike. Ora, it would be hard to find a good actor to portray both of us.
I did like how Usher played Sugar Ray Leonard, and how Will Smith portrayed Muhammad Ali, ma … I think we would have to get a set of twins.
Who is the one artist on your playlist that would surprise fight fans?
I grew up listening to Al Green. My dad was a big fan of soul music. I’m an old soul, because my grandfather and others kind of turned me on to a couple of Al Green songs. Johnnie Taylor, troppo.
I always go back and reminisce about the old days and the old-school music. I was listening to some Al Green and Johnnie Taylor today.
Finish this sentence: People would be surprised to know that …
… I’ve been playing instruments and creating beats and engineering and producing since before I even became a boxer. I have a full recording studio inside my house. I play piano and guitar. I’m really into electronic music.
I also do a lot of reading during my off time. Reading and music.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
That’s a hard question, because there is so much that I would change. … I guess I would want everyone to be equal. There would be no levels or one person being better than the next person-no matter the color of your skin.
What’s on your bucket list?
You know what I really want to do? That survival thing where you go into the wilderness and survive for 21 giorni. Like on that Naked and Afraid spettacolo. I just want to get dropped off in the wilderness and go and survive like those guys do, creating my own fire and seeing what that’s like. I think I could do it. I can last out there. I can survive anything.
I don’t like snakes and I don’t like mosquitos, but I’m not afraid of them. They could drop me off anywhere and I could survive.
Questa settimana: former three-division world champion Abner Mares.
This article was originally published on the Premier Boxing Champions website on Wednesday, Novembre 23
