Jermall Charlo Endured ‘A Seriuos Mental Health Episode’ During Hiatus
Current WBC middleweight titleholder Jermall Charlo suffered a severe mental episode that caused his career to stall for what will be two years plus.
Charlo’s absence was explained by World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman, who says the American’s prolonged inactivity was unavoidable.
The ‘Hitman’ last fought in June of 2021, when he ended the challenge of Juan Macias Montiel by decision at Toyota Center in Houston. Since then, Charlo has been linked to big fights that never materialized.
At 32, Charlo faces the fact that he’ll be out another few months with no date in sight for his next outing.
Complaints from fans and rival promoters over a lack of title defenses led Sulaiman to reveal the WBC’s stance on Charlo.
Jermall Charlo suffers mental health episode
“Basically, in 2021, Charlo was ready for a big fight with Jaime Munguia,” Sulaiman said, according to Izquierdazo.com.
“Then Munguia didn’t want to fight with [Carlos] Adames in a final elimination fight. Charlo then accepted a fight with [Maciej] Sulecki, and Adames was ordered to fight [for the interim title] so the title could have activity.
“Munguia left negotiations, and Charlo got injured.”
During this time out, Sulaiman states Charlo suffered his issues.
“When Charlo was recovering from his injury, he suffered a mental health episode. It was a serious and important one,” added Sulaiman.
“If people want to be yelling and kicking because we didn’t strip him of his title for not fighting, that is why. We will be supporting him unconditionally.
“That is why there is an interim title, so there can be activity in the division. But we will always support our champion. The good ones, and even more in the bad ones.”
Comeback options
Once Charlo returns to full fitness, mentally and physically, Adames will get his shot. Sulaiman would also approve of Jaime Munguia or Demetrius Andrade for defenses.
“We want him to fight, to defend his title. But we want him to return or a ten-round fight,” confirmed the Mexican. “We will support him.
“Then we hope that a fight can be made with Adames [WBC interim champion] to unify the title. Or a fight with Munguia would be amazing. We would approve it, without a doubt.
“And without a doubt, Andrade has demonstrated that he is a great fighter. Jaime is also a great fighter. I like him a lot. I respect him. His fight with Charlo was ready.
“Unfortunately, there were problems between broadcasting platforms that sometimes stopped negotiations.
“Munguia has been fighting above the 160 pounds limit. We have been criticized for keeping him as number one in the rankings. But if they [Charlo and Munguia] want the fight, I will keep doing everything possible for it to happen.”
WBN would like to wish Jermall Charlo a speedy recovery to total health.
