Undefeated junior middleweight Jermell Charlo of Houston sealed his place in boxing folklore last night with a sensational stoppage of former Andy Lee victim John Jackson.
Charlo, now 28-0 (13KOs), trailed Jackson - son of boxing legend Julian - 69-64 on all three judges' scorecards when he pulled a show-stopping right hand out of the bag to all-but stop the Virgin Islands puncher on his feet, before following up with two booming left hands to blow Jackson halfway out of the arena.
History was made, however, with the help of Charlo's twin brother Jermall, who would defend his belt against former champion Austin Trout just half an hour later on the same bill.
Indeed, perhaps one of the highlights of a massively entertaining card was the stirring footage of Jermall Charlo warm up for his title defence backstage, all the while watching his brother join him in the pantheon of world champions.
The twins holding the WBC and IBF light-middleweight titles simultaneously was the first instance of such a feat in boxing history, making the Charlos just the second pair of twins to be world champions at the same time - behind the Galaxy brothers in the mid-'80s. Two brothers, two world titles, one weight division. Unprecedented.
.@TwinCharlo KOs @redshoe82_john and is now the new WBC Super Welterweight Champ #NightOfChampions #CharloJackson https://t.co/aHHercOGZD
— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) May 22, 2016
Though the saying goes "protect yourself at all times," it's probably fair to say John Jackson was in no position to continue as soon as Charlo's right hand scrambled his mind.
#Twinning @FutureOfBoxing @TwinCharlo pic.twitter.com/xDkafiSV0W
— Round By Round Boxing (@RBRBoxing) May 22, 2016
Still just the second-worst stoppage defeat of Jackson's career mind. And not the first time someone has come from behind to brain him, either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-7ob9i8CY4
Hilarity would ensue when older brother Jermall Charlo made it 2-0 to the brothers in Las Vegas; Charles Hatley - the mandatory challenger to Jermell's WBC crown - appeared in the ring with Don King and got involved with the wrong brother (Jermall) when seeking to kick-start the promotion of his fight with Jermell.
Did Charles Hatley just storm the ring to challenge the wrong Charlo brother....?! #CharloTrout #boxing
— Ben Damon (@ben_damon) May 22, 2016
