What’s scarier: Jason Voorhees carving his way through his 10th Crystal Lake coed in an hour, or the Sugar Ray Robinson-Jake LaMotta scene in “Raging Bull?” If you aren’t sickened and a little terrified watching Robert De Niro take that beating, then Martin Scorsese failed you in some way.
Jermell Charlo knows he needs a win Saturday night to keep pace in a talented 154-pound division.
At the very least, it proves that boxing and Halloween horror aren’t incompatible. Jermell Charlo would agree with that, even if he isn’t a big slasher-flick fan himself.
“I don’t really watch scary movies period,” Charlo said. “I always thought that scary movies ruined your sleep.”
Fair enough, but Charlo is ready to make Halloween a nightmare on Fannin Street for Joachim Alcine as they prepare to do business Saturday night at Houston’s NRG Arena (NBCSN, 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT).
Charlo (26-0, 11 KOs) weighed in Friday at 155.75 for their 156-pound bout, while Alcine (35-7-2, 21 KOs) hit the scale at 152.75.
Although Charlo has plenty of power, he’s not strictly a knockout artist. So even though Alcine has been knocked out in four of his seven losses, Charlo isn’t going to be gunning to put the former 154-pound champ, who is 14 years Charlo's senior, to sleep.
“Not at all. But I’m going for the kill,” Charlo said. “We’ve been working on getting a little rough. We’re going to get in there and stick to our game plan, which is boxing. Avoid the power he has and use our youth to beat him.
"I know he throws punches. I know that Alcine sets up a good punch. After a couple jabs, he’ll throw a hard shot. It’s something I have to be aware of.”
A win sets up Charlo well to follow in his brother’s footsteps of contending for a title in a stacked 154-pound division. When Jermall Charlo beat Cornelius Bundradge in September to claim a championship, it was an extra bit of motivation for Jermell.
“I was ready to get in the ring and do the same,” he said. “We’re more in competition like, ‘What are you doing next?’”
If he wins Saturday night, don’t expect Charlo to be hanging around waiting for one of those fights to materialize, though. He said he wants to return to the ring in December, which may prove tricky in a division that has seen the bulk of the top talent fight this fall.
Tricky, but not impossible. Kind of like taking out Freddy Krueger, or Charlie Brown getting candy instead of a rock.
For complete coverage of Charlo vs Alcine, make sure to visit our fight page.
