Tony Harrison outpointed Jermell Charlo to win a junior middleweight world title on Dec. 22, but the result was viewed as highly controversial to many, so he said in the aftermath that he would give Charlo an immediate rematch. And now it’s official.
Harrison and Charlo will meet again in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions card on June 23 (Fox and Fox Deportes, 8 p.m. ET) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, PBC announced on Thursday.
The co-feature will see the return of former junior featherweight world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux taking on former titlist Julio Ceja in a world title elimination fight. The winner be a step closer to a mandatory shot at the 122-pound belt held by Rey Vargas.
When Harrison and Charlo met at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Harrison, in his second world title opportunity, was awarded a decision by scores 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 to claim the belt from Charlo. Few agreed with the scoring, including the Fox broadcasters as well as the Fox unofficial scorer, Larry Hazzard Sr., who had Charlo winning 117-111, the same score that ESPN had.
Harrison never had an issue with giving Charlo a second chance to fight him and stuck to his word.
“Being a world champion now, I’m excited to defend my title for the first time in this rematch that everyone is looking forward to,” Harrison said. “I think there’s actually more pressure on Charlo, just like last time. Everyone is going to be tune in to this fight and we’re going to bring the action to Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, the capital of the boxing world. I plan on doing the exact same thing to Jermell that I did in December. I’m going to get the win, and then I don’t want to hear any more crying or excuses.”
Harrison (28-2, 21 KOs), 28, of Detroit, had failed in his first shot at a title when he suffered a ninth-round knockout to Jarrett Hurd for a vacant belt in 2017. But Harrison went on to win his four fights, including the one against Charlo.
Charlo (31-1, 15 KOs), 28, of Houston, was the heavy favorite when he first faced Harrison. He was disposed of contenders Charles Hatley and Erickson Lubin by highlight-reel knockout and a won a decision against former titlist Austin Trout in his first three title defenses before facing Harrison, who was supposed to be a tune-up fight before an anticipated unification showdown with Hurd.
Now Charlo said all he is thinking about his getting his belt back.
“I am in a ruthless state of mind. I am upset and this upcoming fight, I am going to give it 110 percent,” Charlo said. “I am way hungrier now than I was before. I am not desperate for a win because I know how to win. The judges gave me a bad decision because I didn’t get the knockout, but you don’t have to knock everybody out to beat them. He knows he didn’t beat me. He knows exactly what happened. He knows he can’t beat me. If I have to go in there and prove it again, I will.”
Rigondeaux (18-1, 12 KOs), 38, the two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist who fights out of Miami, Florida, will seek his second win in a row since joining PBC. After he quit on his stool following the sixth round challenging pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko for his junior lightweight world title in December 2017, Rigondeaux did not fight again until January, when he knocked out Giovanni Delgado in the first round.
But he will be facing a much more credible opponent in Ceja (32-3, 28 KOs), 26, of Mexico, who is coming off an upset fourth-round knockout loss to Franklin Manzanilla in May 2018.