By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten WBC Middleweight Champion Jermall Charlo of Richmond, Texas will be meeting Dennis Hogan of Ireland at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York this Saturday, December 7th. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the USA on Showtime and on TSN 2 in Canada. Charlo last fought in June when he beat Brandon Adams by a wide unanimous decision while Hogan dropped a close majority decision to Jaime Munguia in April in a shot at the WBO Super Welterweight Title.
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 29-year-old enters the contest with a perfect record of 29-0 along with 21 Kos. He stands 6-feet-tall and has a reach of 73.5 inches. Charlo’s on quite a roll as he’s stopped 19 of his last 23 opponents and won the interim WBC Middleweight Title in April, 2018 when he stopped Hugo Centeno Jr in the second round.
Charlo has 140 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2008 and this will be his fifth contest as a middleweight. He has good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 72.4 per cent. However, it could be argued that the only upper level boxers he’s met so far have been Julian Williams, Matt Korobov, Austin Trout and Bundrage, who was 42 when Charlo beat him for the title. Charlo hasn’t exactly been clashing with elite level boxers but has been overpowering just about everybody he’s faced lately.
The champion 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 doubtful a win over Hogan will change that.
The 34-year-old Hogan hails from Ireland but resides in Australia. He surprised a lot of people with his excellent outing against Munguia but fell just short in that fight. He’s boxed 226 rounds since making his pro debut in 2011 and has captured the IBF Pan Pacific and WBO Intercontinental Junior Middleweight Titles since then. Hogan enters the contest with a mark of 28-2-1 with just 7 Kos to his name so it’s evident he doesn’t possess much in the way of power with a current knockout ratio of 22.6 per cent.
He also gives up four inches in height to the champion and five inches in reach as he’s just 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 68.5-inch wingspan. Hogan’s other pro loss came to Jack Culcay via a unanimous decision in December of 2015 while his draw was a five round affair with Edmund Eramiha in 2011. Hogan reportedly fought over 150 times as an amateur in Ireland and has won several other regional titles since turning pro.
These include the Australia – Queensland State Super Middleweight Title, the Australia – Queensland State Middleweight Title and the Australian Middleweight crown. He’s also captured the Celtic Nations, WBA Oceania, WBA-NABA USA , WBO Oriental, and WBO Intercontinental Junior Middleweight Titles. His biggest wins have been over Jimmy Kelly, Yuki Nonaka, Kenny Abril, Tyrone Brinson, Robbie Bryant and Nathan Carroll.
Prediction…
Hogan has good boxing skills and a solid chin but he’s small and hasn’t weighed in at more than 159 lbs since 2011. He looked great against Munguia but his lack of power won’t help him against Charlo. I I expect Hogan to give a good account of himself again but also expect him to fall short for the second straight time in his search of an upset.
