Charlo, who hasn’t fought since his September 2023 loss to Canelo Alvarez, bluntly dismissed Fundora when asked about his next fight.
WBC junior middleweight champion Fundora just stopped Thurman in six rounds on March 28 in Las Vegas to secure his position at the top of the division. Instead of acknowledging that result, Charlo spoke as if the current title holder was holding something that still belonged to him.
This is a classic case of a fighter’s ego overriding his activity. Jermell being there in person at the MGM Grand and immediately talking trash is the ultimate “I’m still relevant” move, but the optics are questionable at best.
Jermell hadn’t fought in about 30 months by the time he would actually get back in the ring. To see a 35-year-old (who turns 36 in May) come off that kind of dismissal and demand an immediate shot at the top dog feels like he’s trying to jump the line.
When Jermell says “Get the money, dummy,” he says the silent part out loud. He knows he’s still a name that can sell a PPV, and he’s banking on his former “undisputed” status to circumvent the meritocracy of boxing.
If this fight is actually made next, it sends a pretty cynical message to the fans: Rankings don’t matter, and activity is optional if you have enough followers. Fans generally want to see a former champion prove they can still make the weight and still have the reflexes before jumping into a world title fight. Jumping straight into a Fundora fight after such a long layoff and lack of ranking feels like a cash-out move rather than a “return to the throne.”
The rankings confirm exactly what you suspected. From early March 2026:
WBC/WBA/WBO/IBF: Jermell is nowhere to be found in the Top 15 of the major sanctioning bodies at junior middleweight.
The 154-lb division: Sebastian Fundora is the man with the targets on his back (holding the WBC).
A fight between Charlo and Fundora would clearly appeal due to the contrast in styles and profiles, but nothing is in place yet. The only concrete development is that Charlo puts his name back into the picture and does so in a way that calls into question the legitimacy of the man who just won.
It reads less like a standard callout and more like a reminder of how Charlo still sees his place at 154. The division moved on without him, but he talks as if it never happened.
