The incredible KO that's put the boxing world on notice
Unbeaten champion Jermall Charlo stopped previously unbeaten Julian Williams in the fifth round to retain his International Boxing Federation junior middleweight title on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Charlo knocked Williams down three times in the much-anticipated fight en route to a fifth round TKO that improved his record to 25-0, with 19 knockouts.
The fight's conclusion has put the boxing world on notice. Charlo sent Williams to the canvas with a punishing right uppercut with 80 seconds left in the fifth round then finished him off with a left hook 26 seconds later.
Commentator and former world champion Paulie Malignaggi was gobsmacked by the telling blow.
"It's amazing. He blocks a punch with the same hand that he throws the uppercut," Malignaggi explained. "I thought he took the right hand first, but he didn't take the punch at all.
"He actually blocks the punch, with the same hand as he's rolling, holds his ground and then fires back with that. Amazing."
The brutal uppercut had some punters comparing Charlo to the great Sugar Ray Leonard:
@Boxing_Memes @BingeFeeding @vine that has got to be the fastest uppercut I've seen since #SugarRayLeonard. #Boxing
— Chad (@Cmort5150) December 11, 2016
@premierboxing @FutureOfBoxing @Jrockboxing stunning right uppercut
— Sonny H (@S0NNYH) December 11, 2016
@premierboxing @FutureOfBoxing @Jrockboxing Damn 😯
— Nate Johnson (@SEAriousFan) December 11, 2016
Williams also got knocked down by a stinging jab in the second round but got up quickly from that one. He boxed well in rounds three and four before getting careless in the fifth when he walked into an uppercut that sent him crashing to the floor of the Galen Center arena at the University of Southern California.
After the fight Charlo refused to shake hands with Williams which attracted boos from the crowd and sparked a yelling match between the two corners.
"I told him 'I want your apology, I don't want your congratulations'," Charlo said, furious at Williams' pre-fight trash-talk.
"I never disrespected the dude until I knocked him out," Charlo said.
Despite the three knockdowns, the fight proved to be one of the toughest tests of the career of the unbeaten champion.
Williams, 26, suffered the first defeat of his career as he dropped to 22-1-1 with 14 knockouts.
This was a fight many boxing fans had anxiously awaited since Williams became the mandatory No. 1 challenger in March after knocking out Marcello Matano in the seventh round of a title eliminator.
It capped a massive weekend in the boxing world:
with AFP
