Don't Call Them Identical: Twins Jermell, Jermall Charlo Making Their Own Marks
Undefeated junior middleweights Jermell and Jermall Charlo sure do look-alike. Anytime I visit Plex, where both 24-year-old identical twin brothers train under lead cornerman Ronnie Shields, assistant trainer Creed Fountain and fitness coach Danny Arnold, I'm never quite sure who I'm watching until they do or say something.
I'm certain it's like that for almost everyone there.
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The two are affectionately referred to by others who work out at Plex as “The Twins,” and if only one of them is around, it sure seems obvious when someone hails a Charlo using only his last name that they're still trying to figure out who is standing in front of them.
I've probably followed their careers closer than most. The two were up-and-coming undercard fighters from the Houston area when I first encountered them back in 2012. Younger by exactly one minute, Jermell was further along in his career as a professional prizefighter than Jermall the first time I talked to them for The Boxing Tribune.
Having never seen them fight before, I asked both then how they were different inside the ring.
“I'm best at my jab and counter movement,” Jermall told me back in 2012. “It's taken me to where I am now. I'm in love with my jab. I use it to get started, then use different punches from my arsenal to finish.”
Jermell also spoke affectionately about the jab.
“My jab is a punch that I don't just use to set up; I use it to hurt," he said. "When fighters see me, they see a strong jab.”
But Jermell could very well have been talking about his brother. Since then, it's Jermall who has established himself as the jabber of the two. If there is any one thing that separates the two men as fighters, it is the pristine jab of Jermall.
That's not to say Jermell doesn't possess an adequate front-handed punch. He does. But the two men have different temperaments outside of the ring and seem to apply the same principles inside of it.
If there was any one thing people told me before I stepped into the ring with Jermell for a charity fight last year, it was that I was in deep, deep trouble.
That obviously played out as predicted. No writer will ever get the better of a fighter at the latter’s profession.
But if there was any other thing I was consistently told up until and after the fight, it was that I was lucky I wasn't getting in the ring with Jermall.
It isn't that both couldn't wreck me at will.
They could.
Rather, it's that Jermall's style would lead to it quicker and more painfully than his brother's.
Jermall has a fierce jab. He prefers to stand and fight rather than use movement, and he sits down on his punches to ensure they land with optimum force. Like any fighter who does the same thing, he does this at the expense of being heavier on his feet. It means more power and a better offense, but it also means being an easier target.
Meanwhile, Jermell follows the path set by stablemate Erislandy Lara. Where Jermall prefers to be aggressive and fight mean, Jermell relies on slips, dodges and good footwork to set up nearly everything he does.
Jermell might have the same powerful jab Jermall possesses, but he's never sitting down far enough on his punches to use it. Instead, his fleet feet are adept at making his opponent miss and making him pay with craftily timed counters.
It will be interesting, then, to see which style carries which brother farther. Will it be the risky approach of Jermall, the one sure to be more fan-friendly but also more dangerous for him employing it?
Or will Jermell's defensive-based approach do what it did for Floyd Mayweather? Will his undefeated record balloon to a point where nobody cares whether his fights are aesthetically pleasing to the masses?
Time will tell.
In the meantime, there's only so many ways to tell the brothers apart outside the ring.
The two have different tattoos, but I'm not certain who has what and where. They have different haircuts every now and then, which is a tremendous help to everyone else around them, but just when you think you might have it figured out, they'll switch.
But short of that, you might try looking closely at them should your gaze ever meet one or both of them on the street.
Jermall appears a bit bigger to my eye, and he usually scowls at me a bit more than his brother. Playing catchup on a sibling because he had a head start on you has a way of doing that to brothers.
If you're brave (and dumb), you might try picking a fight with them. Jermall's jab will make you feel like you got hit by a dump truck. Jermell will let you flail about at the air until he's ready to deposit you onto the ground.
There are probably better ways.
Maybe just give up. Do what the locals do and shout out their last name at them and give them a head nod. They know you can't tell the difference. They've been identical twins their whole lives, and there's no telling how many Parent Trap situations they've gotten themselves into over the years.
But make no mistake.
Jermell and Jermall Charlo want to make their marks on the sport of boxing in both ways: as brothers and as individuals. Being siblings may keep them from fighting each other inside the ring for money, but the rivalry between the two persists in other ways.
It's ready, set, go time for the Charlo twins. Big fights await in 2015 and beyond, and both are ready to make their marks.
Unless otherwise noted, all information was obtained firsthand.
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