Jermell Charlo, left, watches Jeison Rosario during one of Charlo's three knockdowns in the fight
Eight months after Jeison Rosario scored what might be the upset of the year against Julian “J Rock” Williams, Jermell Charlo knocked him out with authority to become the unified junior middleweight champion on Saturday night.
A few hours after his twin brother, Jermall Charlo, gave a career-best performance vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Jermell Charlo knocked Rosario down twice and then finished him in the eighth with a jab to the body. Yes, a jab to the body.
Charlo (34-1, 18 KOs) was a -550 betting favorite, and he showed why throughout the evening. He wasn’t quite as busy as his brother was vs. Derevyanchenko, but Jermell Charlo was awfully effective against Rosario (20-2-1). Charlo took Rosario’s power without a problem, and he did a nice job countering Rosario’s shots.
“I definitely proved that I’m more than just a puncher,” Charlo said. “But I also proved I’m a puncher. I stick to my gameplan. I grade myself an A. Everything he told me to do in training camp, I did. I pushed myself the whole way through.”
Charlo got off to a great start, knocking down Rosario in the first round (even though it looked like more of a flash knockdown that was combined with Rosario tripping over the edge of the ring). It certainly surprised plenty of us on Twitter.
Twitter's reaction to Jermell Charlo's first-round knockdown of Jeison Rosario.
Charlo showed his power again in the sixth, and there was nothing flash about this knockdown of Rosario. Luckily for Rosario, the round ended before Charlo could try to finish him. On his way back to the corner, though, Rosario was awfully wobbly.
Then, came the surprising ending.
Even Jermall Charlo, sitting live at ringside, couldn’t believe it. “Knocked him down with a jab,” Jermall said as Rosario was gasping for air. “Oh my gosh. What’s wrong with him? Was it a jab? Hey, he’s done, ref.”
Tony Harrison, who has split his two fights with Jermell, weighed in on the action.
Though the performance from Rosario was a little disappointing, especially since he was so good against Williams in January, you can’t take away how far he’s come in his career and his life.
Either way, it was a fantastic evening for the Charlo brothers and the network that showed them off on Saturday night.
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