Jermell Charlo annihilates Jorge Cota: Now it's time to face Tony Harrison

Jermell Charlo did what he was supposed to do, knocking out Jorge Cota in the 3rd with a thunderous right that had Cota flying back into the ropes and lying flat on the canvas. The knockout was set up by a double jab that blocked Cota’s field of vision, allowing Charlo to land a beautifully timed straight right. The referee could have stopped the fight following the first knockdown of round 3. Similar to the second knockdown of the round which ended up knocking out Cota, Charlo landed a straight right that sent Cota careening into the ropes. When Cota got up, he wasn’t walking straight and never adamantly established to the referee that he was ready to continue. He was no longer fit to compete against the former WBC Super Welterweight Champion. It was soon after this knockdown that Charlo set up the straight right that ended the fight.

Detroit native Tony Harrison sat ringside, watching the fight that he should have been in had he not injured his right ankle during training. Many Harrison fans were in attendance at the Mandalay Bay, since they purchased tickets well before the fight, obviously assuming Harrison would be in the ring that evening. They repeatedly shouted “Detroit” during the main event, getting Harrison’s attention. Cota was in the ring for the sole purpose of salvaging the fight card, as boxing fans clearly want to see the sequel to the controversial title bout between Charlo and Harrison.

Harrison wants to prove that he can outbox Charlo in spots and frustrate him once again. Charlo believes he won the first fight, but his offense wasn’t as forceful as it had been in many of his previous victories. When he loaded up on his power shots, Harrison was able to evade them and dictate the pace of the fight. Charlo is furious about the loss, and wants nothing more that to punish Harrison when they meet up again. While Harrison wants a slow pace that will allow him to be the ring general, Charlo wants to be the aggressor, pressuring Harrison in the hope that it will lead to a knockout.

Neither man likes each other, and that’s exactly what fans love. Opinions aside, their first bout was close and a rematch is necessary to settle the score once and for all. Harrison is a quality fighter in his own right, and showed resiliency by bouncing back from a tough 9th round KO loss to Jarrett Hurd in 2017. Now we will see if Charlo himself has what it takes. Many fighters’ careers are defined by how they perform following a loss. We are going to see Charlo put to this test later this year when he faces Tony Harrison in a rematch.