The 10 Best Junior Middleweights In Boxing: Is Jermell Charlo The Tops At 154 Pounds?
by Josh Katzowitz
It might not get as much credit as the welterweight or heavyweight divisions, but the junior middleweight division in boxing is one of the best weight classes in the sport. And the rest of 2020 should provide exceptional fights and a clearer indication of who is the best boxer at 154 pounds. Is it Jermell Charlo? What about Jeison Rosario or Julian “J Rock” Williams? Remember Erickson Lubin? What about him?
As of this moment, the top two candidates in the division are Charlo and Rosario. And what do you know? The two will face each other on Sept. 26 on a stacked Showtime PPV card that will also feature Jermall Charlo battling Sergiy Derevyanchenko at 160 pounds and a bunch of top-notch junior featherweights.
Jermell Charlo vs. Rosario should give us some answers at 154 pounds. But remember, the top five or six junior middleweights have beaten each other throughout the past few years, so the fact Tony Harrison beat Charlo and Charlo knocked out Lubin and Williams beat Jarrett Hurd and Hurd beat Erislandy Lara (and Harrison) and Rosario knocked out Williams leads to a jumbled division that’s filled with parity.
Here’s how Lubin sees Charlo vs. Rosario, telling the Showtime Boxing Podcast recently, “It’s an exciting fight. Both guys are big punchers. I think Charlo actually takes this fight. Unless he sits there in front of Rosario and tries to make it a tough man contest. Both have punching power that could put one another out. Charlo is more athletic, and he boxes a little more and better than Rosario. But Rosario is a big puncher.”
Either way, now’s a good time to look at the 154-pound division, to take stock and to see where everybody shakes out. Here’s who I think are the top-10 best junior middleweights as of September 2020.
1) Jermell Charlo: If he can securely beat Rosario later this month, there’s little doubt in my mind that he’s the top junior middleweight. He’s three years removed from the best win of his career—a first-round knockout of Lubin—and he battled back from his loss vs. Harrison to stop him in the 11th round of their rematch last December to win back his title. Recently, I asked Charlo why he thought he was the best in the division. He said, “My records, the things that I’ve been through, my accuracy, there’s so many different things. But I can’t boost myself up. It’s not about boosting myself up. It’s about being the lion that I am. You put me in a cage, and let me out. We’ll see what happens.”
2) Jeison Rosario: Before his fight with Williams in January, Rosario was a 6/1 underdog. Then, he stunningly stopped the unified titlist.
Now, Rosario is about a 4/1 underdog vs. Charlo. But if he can land the right punch at the right time, it’s certainly possible he could knock out Charlo the same way he knocked out Williams. “Was I surprised? I think so,” Charlo’s trainer, Derrick James, said when I asked him about his reaction to Rosario flattening Williams. “J Rock is a pretty good fighter. [Rosario] really showed out. He landed those shots that were the right shots.”
3) Erislandy Lara: In his prime, Lara gave Canelo Alvarez one of his toughest tests, got robbed vs. Paul Williams, and beat the likes of Alfred Angulo, Austin Trout and Terrell Gausha. He was known for a technically superior style that also bored most fight fans. Lately, as he’s gotten older, the 37-year-old Lara has been in more exciting contests, including a fight of the year candidate vs. Jarrett Hurd in 2018, in which Lara lost a split decision. Since then, Lara is 2-0-1, including an easy decision victory last month against Greg Vendetti. Though he’s not nearly the fighter he once was, Lara would be dangerous for everybody on this list.
4) Julian “J Rock” Williams: We haven’t heard much from Williams since he got beaten up by Rosario in what very well could be the upset of the year. But he’s had a nice couple of victories in the past few years, including against the then-undefeated Jarrett Hurd, and I could see him getting back to the top of the division if he can pull past the Rosario defeat. Recently, Williams, who had eye surgery in March, told Boxing Scene that he wanted to fight the Charlo vs. Rosario winner.
5) Tony Harrison: Though he lost to Hurd in 2017 and lost to Charlo last year, Harrison scored the biggest victory of his career in 2018 by beating Charlo and upending the division. Harrison put out a solid effort vs. Charlo before getting stopped in the 11th round of the rematch, but if he faced any of the four fighters listed above, I’d make Harrison the underdog. Harrison has been quiet during the pandemic, and sadly, his father (and trainer), Ali Salaam, died of COVID-19 in April.
Now, a short comment about the rest of the top-10.
6) Jarrett Hurd: Another 154-pounder who has been awfully quiet about his future. Lara said he had recently reached out to Hurd’s team about a rematch, but Hurd’s side squashed it.
7) Erickson Lubin: He’s bounced back from his first-round knockout loss to Charlo and has won five-straight. He should be a significant betting favorite to beat Terrell Gausha on Showtime this week, and the 24-year-old seems to be back on an upward trajectory.
8) Brian Castano: In his past four fights, Castano has beaten Michel Soro and Wale Omotoso and salvaged a draw vs. Lara. Now, he’s waiting for a title shot against the man listed below.
9) Patrick Teixeira: Why is one of the world titlists at 154 pounds this far down the rankings? Probably because he hasn’t beaten any of the elite junior middleweights yet. He could fight Castano next, but he reportedly is also looking toward a potential showdown with the undefeated Tim Tszyu.
10) Terrell Gausha: Though he’s only 1-1-1 in the past 36 months, he’ll get a chance in the Showtime main event vs. Lubin this Saturday to jumpstart his career.