By Craig Page: Fans are starting to wonder if Jermall Charlo will return to the ring this year to make his annual defense of his WBC middleweight title.

The unbeaten Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) has been off the grid for the last 16 months since his life & death battle in what was supposed to be an easy defense against Juan Macias Montiel in June 2021.

Some people believe the 32-year-old Jermall is waiting for a big Canelo payday next year and doesn’t want to risk taking a loss before then.

If big Charlo waits too long, the World Boxing Council will order him to defend against his mandatory Carlos Adames (22-1, 17 KOs), who looked sensational earlier this month in destroying Montiel by a third round knockout in a WBC 160-lb title eliminator.

If the idea is for Charlo to wait on a Canelo payday, Adames could soon wreck his plans because the WBC isn’t going to let Jermall sit on his middleweight title without defending it for much longer.

Mike Tyson tried getting Jermall to call out David Benavidez earlier this year, but he wouldn’t do it. Tyson concluded that Jermall was “scared” of the ‘Mexican Monster’ Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs), and a lot of boxing fans on social media agreed with him.

The way that Jermall looked against Montiel, he’d be food for the likes of David Benavidez, David Morrell Jr, Chris Eubank Jr, Demetrius Andrade, and Zhanibek Alimjanuly.

All that inactivity that Jermall has had in the last two years has taken something from his game, leaving him a shell of the fighter that he’d been earlier in his career when he was beating the likes of Julian ‘J-Rock’ Williams, Austin Trout, and Cornelius Bundrage.

Mike Tyson: “Name the names, man. The names need to be named,” said Mike Tyson on Hotboxin podcast when he was trying to get Jermall Charlo to call out the “Mexican Monster” David Benavidez and other top fighters.

Jermall Charlo: “They know who they is,” said Jermall meekly in response. “We’ve called Canelo out for five or six years already.”

Mike Tyson: “Then fight the next best guy, the ‘Mexican Monster.’

Jermall: “Who?”

Tyson: “Benavidez.”

Jermall: “He ain’t no Mexican monster. He has nothing to offer.”

Tyson: “You’re scared.”