If ring rust was a factor for Jermall Charlo, he certainly didn’t show it on Saturday night.
Competing for the first time since November 2023, the former two-division world champion did his part to set up his grudge match with Caleb Plant, dominating Thomas LaManna while securing knockdowns in three consecutive rounds en route to a doctor’s stoppage between the fifth and sixth frame at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Charlo (34-0, 23 KOs) had largely been inactive over the past four years due to a combination of injuries and well-documented battles with substance abuse and his mental health, but vowed post-fight that there will be “no more dark places.” He also called out Saturday’s headliner, Plant, with whom he infamously got in a viral scuffle with backstage at the Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence weigh-ins in July 2023, with video catching Plant smacking Charlo with a hard open-handed slap to the face.
“They know what it is, they know where I’m at. I want my lick back,” ,” Charlo said of Plant, who defends his WBA interim super middleweight title against Armando Resendiz in the night’s main event.
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Despite his recent inactivity, Charlo, 35, put on a vintage performance against the overmatched LaManna (39-6-1, 18 KOs). The former super welterweight and middleweight world champion connected early and often with stiff straight shots, out-landing LaManna 67-19 in total punches and 23-5 in power punches.
Charlo dropped LaManna with a slick right hand in the third round, which also opened up a wide cut under LaManna’s left eye. He went right back to work in Round 4, catching LaManna again with a pair of left hooks to earn his second knockdown, which was announced mid-round after replay review showed that LaManna’s knee touched the canvas. Charlo then sealed the deal with Round 5, sending LaManna tumbling to the floor with a blistering right hand and ultimately forcing the doctor to stop the contest between rounds.
Check out full results, highlights and play-by-play of Saturday’s Plant vs. Resendiz card here.
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