Jermall Charlo vs. Juan Montiel is what you get when the optimal matchups can’t be made.

Charlo, the WBC 160-pound titleholder, said as much on a Zoom call to promote his defense against Montiel on June 19 in Charlo’s hometown of Houston. The card will be televised on Showtime.

The champion was asked on the call whether he would move up to 168 if he can’t get fights against the top middleweights, including fellow titleholders Gennadiy Golovkin and Demetrius Andrade.

He responded that his immediate plan is to stay at 160 and then made it clear how he feels about the upcoming matchup, in which he’s a 22-1 favorite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC7bpAvp284

“I’ll continue fighting fights like these. Somebody’s got to try to get the WBC belt one day,” said Charlo, who insists he has tried but failed to make the big fights at 160 and 168. “… Of course, I would go up for a bigger fighter but the bigger fighter has to come to me.

“I can’t make them get into the ring with me.”

The implication of that statement is that Montiel is a nobody, which isn’t true. He’s simply not as good as Golovkin, Andrade or 168-pounders Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs, at least on paper.

Montiel (22-4-2, 22 KOs) has fallen short in two of his biggest fights – a second-round knockout at the hands of Jamie Munguia in 2017 and a draw with Hugo Centeno Jr. in 2019 – but he has world-class power, as his knockout record indicates.

The Mexican is coming off a first-round knockout of James Kirkland in December.

Still, Charlo is in a difficult position. If he wins, everyone will say, “so what.” And if he doesn’t win convincingly or loses, he’ll be criticized for underperforming.

Charlo is coming off a clear decision over Sergiy Derevyanchenko this past September, which was a breakthrough victory for him given that he beat the Ukrainian more easily than Jacobs or Golovkin did.

He was asked whether he expects to get credit on June 19.

“No, because they put me back in the ring with a guy like Juan Montiel,” he said. “High risk, low reward. I won’t get credit if I knock Juan Montiel out. I just have to continue to be the best I can be.”

The “high risk” comment is an indication of Charlo’s respect for Montiel, who is ranked No. 4 by the WBC.

“He’s a pressure fighter,” Charlo said. “He fights from both stances, southpaw and orthodox. He’s strong in both hands. I’m going to have to fight fire with fire.”

“… Everybody wants to beat the world champion,” he added. “So it doesn’t matter who they put in front of you. Juan Montiel is in shape, he’s strong, he’s fast.

“I’m going to be just as fast, just as strong, just as sharp. The title is on the line. I have to defend it.”

And Charlo certainly isn’t afraid of Montiel’s power.

“Hey, bring on the power,” he said with Montiel also on the Zoom call. “I want the power. You better be as strong as you’re talking. I want to see you be strong, I want to feel the power.

“Bring it to me. I’ll show you what I’ll do with the power. Trust me.”

But will anyone care?

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