Jermall Charlo vs. Juan Macias Montiel: date, time, how to watch, background

JERMALL CHARLO DEFENDS HIS MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE AGAINST JUAN MACIAS MONTIEL ON SATURDAY IN HOUSON, CHARLO’S HOMETOWN, ON SHOWTIME.

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JERMALL CHARLO (31-0, 22 KOs)
vs. JUAN MACIAS MONTIEL (22-4-2, 22 KOs)

• Date: Saturday, June 19
• Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
• Where: Toyota Center, Houston
• TV/Stream: Showtime
• Division: Middleweight
• At stake: Charlo’s WBC title
• Pound-for-pound ranking: Charlo, Honorable Mention
• Odds: Charlo 21-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
• Also on the card: Isaac Cruz Gonzalez vs. Francisco Vargas, lightweights; Angelo Leo vs. Aaron Alameda, junior featherweights; Kudratillo Abdukakhorov vs. Cesar Miguel Barrionuevo, welterweights; Gabriel Maestre vs. Cody Crowley, welterweights
• Prediction: Charlo KO 10
• Background: Charlo will be making the fourth defense of the title he claimed when champion Canelo Alvarez was the WBC declared him it’s “franchise champion” in June 2019. The Houston fighter is coming off his biggest victory at 160 pounds, a clear decision over highly respected Sergiy Derevyanchenko this past September. He’s angling for fights against fellow titleholders Gennadiy Golovkin and Demetrius Andrade or a super middleweight showdown with Canelo Alvarez. Montiel is a significant underdog but no pushover. The 27-year-old Mexican was blown out in two rounds by Jaime Munguia in 2017 but is 3-0-1 since, with a draw against Hugo Centeno Jr. He’s coming off a first-round knockout of one-time contender James Kirkland in December. Montiel’s power also is noteworthy: All 22 of his victories have come by knockout, which is an intriguing element of this matchup.