Canelo Alvarez and Jermell Charlo both weighed 167.4 pounds on Friday, one day before they will meet for Alvarez’s four 168-pound titles.
Alvarez, boxing’s top star, will make the third defense of his undisputed super middleweight championship on Saturday in Las Vegas, while Charlo will compete above 154 pounds for the first time.
Charlo, 33, is the undisputed junior middleweight champion but moved up 14 pounds for the biggest chance of his career.
Jermell wasn’t even the original Charlo opponent.
It was his twin brother, Jermall, who was first earmarked to face Alvarez. Jermall is the bigger Charlo and holds the WBC title at 160 pounds, but he hasn’t competed since June 2021 because of a personal matter. So Jermell stepped in.
“They look the same,” Alvarez, 33, told ESPN on Wednesday. “Same size, same everything. I don’t really care which Charlo brother it is.”
“I think he can handle the weight, too, because he’s taller,” added Alvarez, who is 5-foot-8 while Charlo is 6-foot. “He’s strong. … I think [the extra weight] is going to be good for him. … Maybe he struggled to make 154.”
Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) won the undisputed junior middleweight championship with a 10th-round knockout of Brian Castano in a May 2022 rematch. Their first fight was a draw.
Charlo was set to make the first defense of his undisputed championship versus Australian star Tim Tszyu in January, but Charlo withdrew after he suffered a broken left hand in training camp.
Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs), ESPN’s No. 4 pound-for-pound boxer, is coming off a unanimous decision triumph over John Ryder in May.
