by David P. Greisman

Boxing trainer Ronnie Shields is looking toward Jermall Charlo’s first world title defense, which is presently scheduled for Nov. 28 against Wilky Campfort. And while Shields has seen some good things from Campfort, he also has faith that his own fighter will be far too much for his opponent.

“I’ve been watching Campfort. Good fighter, got a great record, only had one loss in his second fight, lost a majority decision to Manny Woods. Wilky brings a lot to the table,” Shields said.

Most recently, Campfort appeared on a Sept. 18 “Premier Boxing Champions” card against Ronald Montes. Campfort got knocked down in the first round but rallied back to stop Montes in the second. The win brought Campfort’s record to 21-1 with 12 KOs.

“He got dropped by this kid, and the way he came back showed me that he’s got a lot of will,” Shields said. “He throws combinations. He’s a busy fighter. He don’t seem like he’s the biggest puncher in the world, but he’s a busy fighter. The thing that separates Jermall from him is that Jermall has a great jab. His jab is like a right hand. And also the combinations that Jermall throws and the power that he possesses. He surprises a lot of people with his punching power. That’s just who he is. Jermall is a natural.”

Charlo won his world title in September with a third-round drubbing of Cornelius Bundrage. It marked the fighter’s arrival, moving him to 22-0 with 17 KOs. And Shields says what boxing fans saw against Bundrage is only a glimpse of what they will see from Charlo down the line.

“The best is yet to come. You haven’t seen the best of Jermall yet,” Shields said. “He’s still a young kid. He’s 26 years old now. What you’re seeing now is a kid who’s really [eager] to learn everything about this sport. He’s been in the gym every day working, and just waiting for them to say he’s fighting. You’ve only seen a piece of what he can actually do.”

Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com