Jermall Charlo has poked, prodded, and done everything else in between, in an attempt to lure Gennadiy Golovkin into the ring. But, no matter how loud Charlo continues to scream and shout in the unified middleweight champion's direction, Golovkin has shown little to no interest.

Most recently, Charlo’s seemingly minuscule chances at landing a showdown against Golovkin diminished even further. Just a few short days ago, the current WBA and IBF 160-pound titlist, abandoned his middleweight throne and made the trek eight pounds north to take on Canelo Alvarez.

Ultimately, despite his overwhelming confidence, Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs) would come up woefully short, losing a close but clear unanimous decision. While Golovkin, after banking roughly $25 million for his efforts, could have opted to ride off into the sunset, the Kazakhstan star disseminated to the boxing world that he fully intends to return to the middleweight division.

Still, even with Golovkin revealing that his pugilistic career isn't done just yet, Bob Arum no longer views him as the best 160-pounder around. In fact, if an explosive matchup between both Charlo and Golovkin were to materialize, Arum has a strong hunch as to who would win.

“I would think Charlo wins that fight at this point,” said Arum to BoxingScene.com.

Regardless of Arum’s backing, Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) is attempting to work his way back into the public eye. When last seen, the truculent knockout artist hailing from Texas, struggled mightily with the length, tenacity, and punching power of fringe contender Juan Macias Montiel in June of 2021.

Since then, a nagging back injury has forced Charlo to sit idly by. Nevertheless, according to Ronnie Shields, Charlo’s longtime trainer, the WBC belt holder is fully recovered and anxious to make his return.

In conjunction with picking Charlo to defeat Golovkin, Arum acknowledges that Charlo’s overall skills have little to do with his selection. Having turned 40 years of age in April, Arum is convinced that Golovkin is eroding before his very eyes.

However, if the former pound-for-pound star were to drink from the fountain of youth and return to his dominant ways, Arum believes wholeheartedly that Charlo would have no chance at defeating him.  

“I don’t think Charlo would be competitive with GGG at GGG’s best. But GGG’s best is long since past. So I would pick Charlo to win that fight.”