Jermall Charlo Vacates Junior Middleweight Title, Moves Up to 160 Pounds

Jermall Charlo, one of boxing’s brightest young stars, has officially relinquished his IBF junior middleweight title in order to ascend into the middleweight division. The announcement came early Thursday afternoon, but his 154-pound title will not remain vacated for long.

Premier Boxing Champions revealed that Tony Harrison (24-1, 20 KOs) will take on Jarrett Hurd (19-0, 13 KOs) on the undercard of the Deontay Wilder vs. Gerald Washington heavyweight championship event on Feb. 25. The action will be televised live on Fox beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Charlo’s twin brother Jermell Charlo, will hang on to his WBC junior middleweight title and will defend it against Charles Hatley on March 11.

“I've been thinking about moving to 160 pounds for a while now,” Jermall Charlo said. “It was a struggle for me to make the weight for the last title fight. Once I captured the title, I defended it immediately, because I wasn't sure how long I could hold the weight. I held it an extra year to fight Austin Trout and Julian Williams. I feel there are bigger and better things for me at 160 where I can still hold my weight and be stronger. The idea of being a two-time world champion is a big goal for me.

“If there were a big fight at 154 pounds left for me, I'd stick around and wait for it,” he continued. “But there isn't anything there that can be made quickly. And I wouldn't fight my brother or my gym mate and close friend, Erislandy Lara.”

Though there is no specific date or opponent set for Charlo’s middleweight debut, he and his camp are targeting a date in May.