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It was a winning night for both Charlo twins in Connecticut.
Hours after his twin brother Jermall Charlo defended his WBC middleweight title against Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Jermell Charlo (32-1, 16 KOs) successfully unified the WBA, WBC, and IBF junior middleweight belts with an eighth-round KO of Jeison Rosario (20-2-1, 14 KOs).
Charlo entered Saturday’s Showtime PPV main event as the WBC champion, whereas Rosario was the unlikely unified WBA and IBF champion thanks to his shocking upset win over Julian Williams in January. While Jermell was favored significantly, observers knew better than to count out Rosario a second time.
It looked as if it would be an extra early night for the Dominican fighter went Charlo hurt him with a left hook to the temple and staggered him to the canvas just 50 seconds into the opening round. Rosario recovered quickly and in fact arguably outworked and had the better offense against Charlo over the next several rounds.
In round six, Rosario had the upper hand on Charlo in terms of cleaner punches and being more aggressive offensively, but he was fortunate not to lose a point for repeated low blows even after being warned by referee Harvey Dock. Perhaps it was a case of “ball don’t lie” for boxing, as Charlo sensationally dropped Rosario with that left to the temple yet again just seconds before the bell sounded to end the round. Rosario was jelly-legged even after getting up and walking back to his corner.
Early in round eight, Charlo sealed the deal with a jab to the body that sent Rosario practically skidding across the ring with the force he landed that shot. Rosario was down in pain, writhing around the canvas and unable to beat the ten-count.
Official result: Jermell Charlo def. Jeison Rosario by KO (body shot) at :21 of round 8 to unify the WBA, WBC, and IBF junior middleweight titles
For Jermell Charlo, it’s a sensational turnaround for him after his upset loss to Tony Harrison in 2018. Over the last two years he has gotten his belt back from Harrison and taken two belts from Rosario to be the undisputed best junior middleweight in the world.
A great night’s work for Jermell and Jermall Charlo at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.