Jermall Charlo to fight Dennis Hogan in December?

Unbeaten WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo has been looking for an opponent and it looks like a guy, who narrowly missed pulling off an upset for a World Junior Middleweight championship earlier this year, will be that fighter this winter.

The Athletic’s boxing insider, Mike Coppinger, reports that Charlo is set to put his 160 lbs. title on the line against Australian Dennis Hogan sometime in December:

Sources: PBC in the process of finalizing a deal for Jermall Charlo to defend WBC middleweight title vs. Dennis Hogan in December. Hogan dropped a highly controversial decision to Jaime Munguia in a 154-pound title bout. Was denied rematch and will now seek a title at new weight

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) September 4, 2019

You may remember that Hogan lost a controversial 12 round decision to WBO 154 lbs. Champion Jaime Munguia in May. Hogan, Munguia and their respectives/management and promoters have been unable to come to an agreement on a potential rematch. Part of the complication is that Mungia has been mentioned throughout the last three months as possible future opponent later this year for Canelo Alvarez.

However, the Middleweight champ Alvarez has repeatedly failed to agree on an opponent despite negotiating with several.

So, while Mungia is still waiting, this frees up Hogan now to fight the unbeaten Charlo at a weight class higher.

Charlo was last in the ring in June in his hometown of Houston, where he decisioned little-known contender Brandon Adams to improve his record to 29 – 0 with 21 Kos. Charlo won the interim WBC belt in April of 2018, when he knocked out Hugo Centeno Jr., in 2 rounds. He also successfully defended the title later that year in a 12-round decision over Matt Korobov.

Charlo and his twin brother Jermell were simultaneous World Championship belt holders in the Junior Middleweight and Middleweight divisions. That is until, Jermell Charlo lost a controversial 12-round decision to Tony Harrison as the main event on that December card where his brother beat Korobov. Jermell Charlo is still waiting for his rematch with Harrison, who was injured earlier this summer in training.

As for Jermall Charlo, he’ll be taking on an Australian veteran, who took the fight to Munguia in April in Monterrey, Mexico. Hogan, who’s 34 years old, is 28 – 2 – 1, but only has 7 knockouts.

It’s unclear as to whether Premier Boxing Champions, who promotes Charlo, would want to fight to be at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, where he fought Korobov last December. Or, another option is that PBC n could return to Charlo’s hometown of Houston, where he fought Adams this summer.