Friday, December 6, 2019

Jermell Charlo vs. Tony Harrison II

Toyota Arena, Ontario, CA, Dec. 21
TV: Fox Sports
By Peter Lim

Charlo won the first encounter in most observers' eyes but was robbed by the judges. Still, he allowed Harrison to have sufficient success to leave enough room for doubt to mute the public outrage. The main adjustment Charlo makes in the rematch is letting his punches go in fluid combinations instead of loading up on power punches as he did in the first fight.

But Harrison too will come in with a markedly different game plan. At the back of his mind he probably knows he was lucky to get away with the win in the first fight so he has reinvented himself for the rematch. Expect him to try and frustrate Charlo by moving, counter punching and clinching when the going gets tough.

Punch resistance will ultimately determine the outcome of the fight. In his two losses, Harrison crumpled the minute he got nailed by a direct hit. It might take Charlo a while to get there but he eventually does. A left-right-left hook combo drops Harrison to the canvass in the eighth round. He beats the count on spaghetti legs and Charlo’s follow-up assault sends him careening around the ring prompting his corner to intervene with the towel toss.

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