Jermall Charlo vs Hugo Centeno Jr. April 21st
Unbeaten Jermall Charlo of Richmond, Texas will be meeting Hugo ‘The Boss’ Centeno Jr. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York this Saturday, April 21st for the vacant interim WBC Middleweight Title. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the U.S. on Showtime while fans in the UK can catch the action on Sky Sports. Those in Canada can see it live on TSN 3. Charlo last fought in July when he stopped Jorge Sebastian Heiland in the fourth round. Centeno’s last outing was in August when he stopped Immanuwel Aleem in the third round. Charlo and Centeno were scheduled to meet earlier this year, but the fight was postponed when Centeno suffered a rib injury.
Charlo vs Centeno Jr. Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Hugo Centeno Jr. +1100
- Jermall Charlo -3500
My Pick
Charlo is a former IBF Jr. Middleweight Champion who defended the belt three times after winning it by stopping Cornelius Bundrage in the third round in September, 2015. The 27-year-old ex-champion enters the contest with a perfect record of 26-0 along with 20 Kos. He stands 6-feet-tall and has a reach of 73.5 inches. Charlo’s on quite a roll as he’s stopped 18 of his last 20 opponents. He has 115 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2008 and this will be his second contest as a middleweight.
Charlo has very good power in his fists and his current knockout ratio now stands at 77 per cent. However, it could be argued that the only upper level boxers he’s met so far have been Julian Williams, Austin Trout and Bundrage, who was 42 when Charlo beat him for the title. Charlo hasn’t exactly been clashing with top-notch boxers, but has been overpowering just about everybody he’s faced lately and it would be a bit of a stretch to consider Centeno as an elite opponent.
Charlo has displayed fine speed and boxing skills, but his chin has yet to be really tested. He’s a strong, offensive-minded boxer who would rather his fights didn’t reach the scorecards. His only other notable win so far has been against Antwone Smith. And although he’s beaten a world champion in Bundrage and former world champion in Trout, Charlo hasn’t proven to the fans to be an elite boxer as of yet and it’s questionable if a win over Centeno will change that.
Centeno is a 27-year-old who’s been beaten just once and heads into the fight with an impressive mark of 26-1 with 14 Kos. He’s just over 6-feet-1-inch tall and has a reach of 75.5 inches, meaning he’s an inch taller than Charlo and has a two-inch edge in reach. Centeno had a fine amateur career and went 90-8 before turning pro back in March of 2009. He has pretty good power even though his knockout ratio currently stands at an average 50 per cent.
Centeno’s lone defeat as a pro came via a 10th-round TKO at the hands of Maciej Sulecki in June of 2016. He beat James De La Rosa by fifth-round KO in December of 2014 and fought to a no-contest with Julian Williams in 2013. The fight was stopped in the fourth round due to an accidental head butt, but Centeno was trailing 30-27 on all three scorecards. Centeno’s a good boxer with decent power, but will need to be at his best to beat Charlo.
Prediction…
Centeno will need to show a solid chin and be prepared to handle Charlo’s power shots and boxing skills if he’s going to be successful. There’s no doubt Centeno will give it all he’s got, but I think Charlo will end up with the interim title when all is said and done.
Charlo’s the better boxer at this stage of their careers.
Play: Charlo -3500 @ BetOnline.ag
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Hugo Centeno Jr. betting • Jermall Charlo betting