Jermall Charlo stuns Jose Benavidez Jr with crunching right hand in first round of comeback win, but cannot find elusive knockout

Jermall Charlo returned to winning ways as he beat Jose Benavidez Jr by unanimous decision on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Charlo was returning from a two-and-a-half year lay-off on the undercard of his opponent’s brother David Benavidez, having not boxed since mid-2021 due to injuries and mental health issues.

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Charlo staggered Benavidez Jr very early in the fight, which went to points in the endCredit: Showtime

Benavidez Jr was selected as a capable comeback opponent for the ten-rounder, but the favourite was of course expected to deal with him comfortably.

However, questions were raised about Charlo as he significantly missed weight for the 163lbs catchweight bout, coming in at 166.5lbs, and so lost a portion of his purse before the first bell even rang.

When it did get underway, the fight began with a tentative opening couple of minutes which allowed the underdog to build some confidence.

Charlo initially had the look of a boxer who’d been inactive for a long period, though began to find some rhythm at the end of the first.

Benavidez Jr tried to back the WBC middleweight world champion up against the ropes, but was nailed with a hard counter right hand that clearly staggered him.

Despite this, Benavidez Jr applied similar tactics in round two, which saw back-and-forth action between the pair.

At the start of the third he did the same once more and looked to be trying to rough Charlo up regardless of his size disadvantage.

In round four, this plan seemed to be unravelling as Charlo stood in the centre of the ring with Benavidez Jr, outboxed him and landed hard shots at will.

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Charlo is the WBC middleweight world champion, but his belt was not at stake in this fightCredit: Esther Lin/SHOWTIME

Benavidez Jr battled back in the fifth as he unloaded on Charlo against the ropes.

As they passed the halfway point though, the favourite appeared ultimately in control and ahead in the fight.

He was far from comfortable as Benavidez Jr had moments of success in the second half, but Charlo was clearly the superior boxer.

The WBC middleweight world champion landed more consistently in the final round too as he pursued a knockout, and had his opponent badly hurt.

The KO was ultimately elusive though and so Charlo instead emerged victorious unanimous decision.

The judges’ scorecards read: 98-92, 99-91, 100-90.