Jermall Charlo predicts he won’t receive credit from fans for beating veteran Thomas LaManna in their 10-round super middleweight contest this Saturday, May 31st. The former two-division world champion Charlo (33-0, 22 KOs) views this fight as a no-reward match-up, and he feels he’s got “pressure” on him.

Jermall’s Inactivity Problem

It’s Jermall’s fault because he could have pushed for a better opponent, but that wasn’t going to happen, given that he’s coming off another two-year layoff. He’s chosen not to stay active in his career. That is the kind of opponent that inactive, part-time fighters face.

Charlo vs. LaManna will be battling in the co-feature spot on the Caleb Plant vs. Jose Armando Resendiz card at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas. The event will be shown live on Prime Video as part of a PBC Championship Boxing event. It begins at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT.

Jermall must win this fight to stay in line for a clash against Plant later this year. The former IBF super middleweight champion Plant has to win his battle against Resendiz. Despite Plant-Resendiz and Charlo-LaManna being mismatches on paper, you can’t rule out one or both of the A-side fighters losing. A lot of aging has been going on with those two.

LaManna (39-5-1, 18 KOs) isn’t expected to give Jermall any troubles, but you never know. Charlo looked like he was only 60% of what he once was in his last fight against Jose Benavidez Jr. in 2023, coming off a two and a half year layoff. For the LaManna fight, Jermall might have lost even more from his game, leaving him at roughly 50% of what he once was in his best years before he began to wallow in his crib.

Charlo’s No-Credit Prediction

“This is my career. I’m putting it all on the line. I probably won’t get the thumbs up and the likes from the fans,” said Jermall Charlo to The Ring about his not likely to receive credit from fans for beating Thomas LaManna on Saturday.”

LaManna is no great talent, but he’s been active and hungry. That could be enough for him to defeat what’s left of Jermall. Charlo is not the fighter he once was, and it’s not just about inactivity. It’s age and what he’s done to his body. Under the circumstances, a loss for him in this fight wouldn’t be a complete shock.

“If I go in there and make it a fight and make it tough and something crazy happens in the fight, then they’ll be like, ‘Oh, he’s not Jermall Charlo no more.’ So, the pressure is on me to be who I am,” said Charlo.

Let’s not kid ourselves here. Jermall isn’t going to resemble his vintage self on Saturday, and he might be forced to labor to a decision. No one will get excited about Charlo, even if he destroys LaManna, because they know he’s been matched against a beatable guy brought in to help him get the ring rust out.

 PBC Fight Details

– Caleb Plant vs. Jose Armando Resendiz
– Jermall Charlo vs. Thomas LaManna
– Yoenli Feliciano Hernandez vs. Kyrone Davis: Middleweight
– Isaac Lucero vs. Omar Valenzuela: Junior middleweight