Jermall Charlo (34-0, 23 KOs) will challenge Armando Resendiz (16-2, 11 KOs) for the WBA super middleweight title on May 2 as the co-main event to Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez’s unified cruiserweight title defense against David Benavidez in Las Vegas, sources confirmed with ESPN on Tuesday.
The fight will be part of the PBC Pay-Per-View on Prime Video event that will take place at T-Mobile Arena. Boxeo de Primera was first to report the Charlo-Resendiz bout being made.
Discussions for Resendiz to face Charlo in his first title defense began a month ago after a proposed fight against Jaime Munguia reportedly fell apart. Resendiz — who won the interim title with a stunning upset of Caleb Plant last May — was elevated to full champion following the retirement of Terence Crawford in December. Charlo appeared on the same card and stopped Thomas LaManna to end an 18-month hiatus from boxing. Resendiz’s win disrupted plans of a fight between Plant and Charlo.
Instead, Resendiz will have a tough assignment for his first title defense against the former two-division world champion.
Charlo, 35, won world titles at middleweight and junior middleweight but has fought sporadically over the past five years, with only four fights since 2020. Still, he maintains an undefeated record and will pursue becoming a three-division world champion when he challenges the upset-minded Resendiz.
After dispatching Plant, Resendiz now looks to validate that victory by knocking off another high-profile name in the initial defense of his WBA title.
Resendiz, 27, became a notable name when he knocked out Jarrett Hurd in 2023. But his momentum took a tumble when he was stopped by Elijah Garcia in the next fight. After getting back in the win column against Fernando Paliza, he landed the assignment to face Plant but was seen as nothing more than an opponent before shocking the former super middleweight champion.
