Tonight features not one but two Charlo fights as twin brothers Jermall and Jermell head over to Fox and PBC. We’ll have live coverage right here.
Headlining the night is Jermall Charlo (27-0; 21 KOs) vs. Matt Korobov (28-1; 14 KOs) in a Middleweight fight. This is a late change, as the card was originally to be headlined by Jermall vs. Willie Monroe, but a failed drug test by Monroe in the past week caused him to be pulled and Korobov called up. Before that, it’s Jermell Charlo (31-0; 15 KOs) defending his WBC Light Middleweight title against Tony Harrison (27-2; 21 KOs). The show opens with a Heavyweight fight between Dominic Breazeale (19-1; 17 KOs) and Carlos Negron (20-1; 16 KOs). Here’s what I had to say about the main event in my preview:
This was originally scheduled as Charlo vs. Willie Monroe, but within the past week, Monroe tested positive for a banned substance and Korobov was promoted from a prelim fight on the card to the main event. And honestly, that’s just fine by me. Korobov is a skilled amateur and a 10 year pro whose lone career loss came against Andy Lee in 2014. He’s still outmatched here, but he’s a tough fighter who I suspect has more to offer than Monroe. Still, this fight is a showcase for Charlo (of course). Jermall has some good wins to his name, including Austin Trout and Julian Williams, and he has done well with his recent move up to Middleweight. Is he a bit protected in match-making? Sure. But he’s also a very good fighter who should win this. Jermall is currently ranked the #6 contender at Middleweight. It’s expected that with a Charlo win here, the WBC will order a Charlo vs. GGG fight – we’ll see if that actually comes to fruition.
Premier Boxing Champions Charlo vs. Korobov airs live on Fox tonight, Saturday, December 22, with a fight time of 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT. We will have live coverage here, including results and discussion all night, and round by round updates for the main event.
PBC CHARLO vs. KOROBOV RESULTS
Jermall Charlo def. Matt Korobov, UD (119-108, 116-112, 116-112)
Tony Harrison def. Jermell Charlo, UD (116-112, 115-113, 115-113)
Dominic Breazeale def. Carlos Negron, KO (Round 9, 1:37)
JERMALL CHARLO vs. MATT KOROBOV ROUND BY ROUND
Round 1: This round was fought mostly at range, with Korobov in particular targeting the body with straight shots. Both had some success, and Charlo had a good shot the the head that moved Korobov, but the Korobov body attack was the most notable point. 10-9 Korobov
Round 2: Jermall picks up the heat, putting together straight shot combos to the head, and Korobov makes him pay early with a nice counter. Korobov doing a good job stepping inside Charlo’s range quickly and landing a nice shot, while Charlo seems to be struggling to get his jab working to keep him out. 10-9 Korobov
Round 3: Better jab work from Charlo, but he continues to get countered by Korobov when he leaves himself open. In the final 30 seconds, Korobov lands a very nice left cross counter – the biggest punch of the fight yet. 10-9 Korobov, 30-27 through 3
Round 4: Korobov’s straight left keeps landing – sometimes as a lead, sometimes as a counter, but it’s consistently landing, and Charlos is consistently not stopping it. Charlo does land his own nice counter this round, but it’s not enough 10-9 Korobov
Round 5: Korobov seemed to slow a bit here, allowing Charlo to get in it. Some nice lefts to the body from Charlo, plus a few good shots to the head as well. Charlo’s most effective round yet. 10-9 Charlo
Round 6: Charlo doing a nice job controlling the ring here. He’s pushing Korobov back to the ropes and into the corner, and he’s throwing once it gets there. Korobov is no longer landing that left, and has started to hold a bit more. 10-9 Charlo, 58-56 Korobov through 6
Round 7: Good clean right hand from Charlo to open the round. Korobov is not moving as well – this is the 3rd round in a row where he seems to have lost something in his step. Meanwhile, Charlo looks looser, and is rolling from Korobov’s inside work nicely. 10-9 Charlo
Round 8: Tough, close round here. Korobov did manage to sneak his left hand back in there a bit, but this was a close one, and could be a key if it goes to the cards. 10-9 Korobov
Round 9: Korobov comes out aggressively here, throwing more and landing some good shots in the opening minute. But as the round progresses, his output drops off while Charlo keeps throwing and landing, outworking Korobov down the stretch. 10-9 Charlo. 86-85 Korobov through 9
Round 10: Good round. The difference here looks to be that Korobov is throwing a few punches at a time, while Charlo is getting them to flow together in combos. This was another close one, but Charlo’s work seems to be helping him pull ahead. 10-9 Charlo, which means I have it even with two rounds left
Round 11: Good jabs from Charlo and a good pace. It occurs to me here that after some nice body work early from Korobov, he has pretty much abandoned that to his detriment. 10-9 Charlo
Round 12: Charlo opens the round by landing the best punch of the fight for either man – a hard shot that hurts Korobov and sends him staggering around the ring. Korobov would survive without going down, but this was the most either man was hurt in the fight, and the most definitive round. 10-9 Charlo
Final score on my card: 115-113 Charlo
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