By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Jermall Charlo of Richmond, Texas will be defending his newly-won IBF Junior Middleweight Title at the Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas when he takes on Winky Campfort of Haiti this Saturday, November 28th. The card is an afternoon affair and will be broadcast live in North America on the full NBC network. Charlo won the crown about 10 weeks ago by stopping Cornelius Bundrage in three brutal rounds. This is another Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) broadcast and it appears it’s just a tune up for the champion as he waits for bigger-name opponents.
The 25-year-old Charlo will enter the ring with a perfect mark of 22-0 along with 17 Kos while the 31-year-old Campfort, who now fights out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is 21-1 with 12 Kos to his name. Charlo should be in decent shape since he’s been training since winning the title on September 12th and wants to be an active champion. He’s on quite a roll as he steps into the ring since he’s stopped 15 of his past 15 opponents. He stands 6-feet tall with a 73.5-inch reach and has 89 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2008. As we know, he’s got quite a bit of power and has a knockout ratio of 77 per cent. It could be argued that he hasn’t faced an elite boxer other than Bundrage, who was 42 when Charlo beat him.
It would be quite a stretch to call Campfort an elite boxer even though he’s got a fine record. Campfort hasn’t fought anybody of note up to now and will be stepping up in class on Saturday. His last bout was against Ronald Montes on September 18th and he came back to stop him in the second round after Campfort picked himself up from the deck in the opening round. He turned pro in 2009 and has fought 90 rounds since then. Campfort’s reach isn’t listed, but he’s an inch shorter than Charlo at 5-foot-11. His current knockout ratio stands at 55 per cent. The challenger’s only loss came at the hands of Manny Woods via a four-round majority decision in Campfort’s second pro bout in 2009.
Campfort is riding a 20-bout winning streak, but the victories have come against journeymen and limited opposition. Charlo hasn’t exactly been clashing with top-notch boxers either, but has fought stiffer opposition up to now. He looked fast and powerful against Bundrage and that doesn’t bode too well for Campfort. However, the challenge says he’s not meeting Charlo just for the paycheque as he’s there to make a name for himself and win a world title in what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Charlo realizes this and won’t be taking his opponent too lightly.
Prediction
Charlo has excellent speed, power, and boxing skills and his chin has yet to be tested. Campfort is no slouch in those departments, but his chin is questionable. There’s no doubt he’ll be motivated for this fight, but his skills just don’t match up to Charlo’s. Fans should expect to see the champ retain his crown by stoppage or a relatively comfortable decision.
