By Allan Fox:  Jermall Charlo has been inactive for 17 months since defending his WBC middleweight title against Juan Macias Montiel in June 2021.

The WBC has yet to step in and strip the inactive Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) or give him the emeritus tag they give their injured champions if they’ve been sitting inactive for ages.

In the past, the WBC has quickly given one of their champions the emeritus tag if they choose to sit on the belts without fighting due to their aches & pains.

Charlo has fallen off the map in the last two years as the WBC champion. He’s been defending his WBC title annually, which leads some boxing fans to believe that he’s just enjoying the fruits of his labor a little too much.

If Jermall is just holding out, playing it safe by not fighting, waiting & hoping to hit it big with a massive money fight against Canelo Alvarez or Gennadiy Golovkin, he’s wasting his time.

Charlo needs to stay busy because when you’re only fighting once a year, in this case, not in action in 17 months, fans forget about you, and the casuals have no idea who you are.

Jermall, 32, defended his WBC 160-lb title once in 2021 and once in 2020, and thus far, he’s not fought at all in 2022. If he’s not going to fight for two years, it’s only fair that the World Boxing Council strip him or give him the emeritus tag if he’s injured.

#1 WBC Carlos Adames has to be frustrated at sitting on the sidelines, waiting for a title shot against Charlo that’s not happening for whatever reason.

Given how short the typical fighter’s careers are, it’s bad for the contenders when you’ve got a champion that isn’t defending their belts for long stretches.

It would be good for the contenders in the WBC’s top 15 if Charlo were stripped of his belt or given the emeritus tag if’s injured. He can always fight for the belt after healing up if his inactivity is due to an injury.

If Charlo does get stripped, these would likely be options for Adames to fight for the WBC middleweight belt:

2. Jamie Munguia

3. Chris Eubank Jr

4. Ryota Murata

5. Sergiy Derevyanchenko

There’s a good chance that one of those fighters would be willing to fight Adames for the vacant title. I wouldn’t expect it to be Munguia, but you never know.