Who: Tony Harrison (28-2) vs Jermell Charlo (32-1)
When/Where: December 21st, 2019 Ontario, CA
Network: Fox (8 pm ET)
The first fight ended in controversy… at least for Jermell Charlo.
Tony Harrison came in and shocked the heavily favored champ with a unanimous decision victory. Judge Robin Taylor scored the fight 116-112 for Harrison while Julie Lederman and Ron McNair both scored the fight 115-113. “They took that fight from me,” Charlo said.
The rematch was supposed to take place on June 23rd but it was rescheduled due to Harrison’s ankle injury.
The final punch stats (CompuBox)
| Fighters | Charlo | Harrison |
| Total Punches (Body Landed) | 160 (25)/548 (29.2%) | 128 (10)/377 (34%) |
| Total Jabs (Body Landed) | 52 (5)/328 (15.9%) | 57 (6)/193 (29.5%) |
| Power Punches (Body Landed) | 108 (20)/220 (49.1%) | 71 (4)/184 (38.6%) |
Harrison has made the rematch personal referring to Tony Harrison as “Phony” Harrison. He promises to knockout the opponent that took is “0” away. The two appeared on PBC Face to Face, where the tension was palpable.
Keys for Charlo
Despite being the busier fighter, the judges seemed to prefer Harrison’s ring generalship. Charlo will need to be just as busy but his aggression will to be more effective to get the judge’s eyes. There were also times where Charlo stood in front of Harrison without throwing any punches. Harrison took full advantage of those times.
That will have to start by going to Harrison’s body early and often. That along with cutting off the ring would be a good start to Charlo getting his titles back.
Keys for Harrison
This time around he’ll need to be busier but exhibit some of the same patience he did in the first fight. His left jab kept Charlo at bay so it can start there. But he’ll definitely need to mix it up a little more. It’s hard for me to see him getting a decision if he fought the first fight over again.
Prediction
It’s hard to see Harrison win the rematch especially when you can easily argue that he didn’t win the first fight. Harrison wins with a TKO in the ninth round.
