Jermall Charlo was talking a big game before his big gaffe on the scale Friday when he weighed in 3.4 pounds more than the 163-pound contracted limit against Jose Benavidez Jr. 

The WBC middleweight champion Charlo weighed in at 166.4 pounds for his non-title fight against Benavidez, who weighed in at 161.2 pounds for their Saturday-scheduled slugfest.

Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) has been inactive for the last 29 months dealing with mental health issues. 

“I took a break from social media and got a chance to regroup and make myself better. I’m back. I now have a chance to show everybody the new me,” Charlo said during a media workout Wednesday ahead of his co-main event fight at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Showtime pay-per-view. 

“I missed my fans. But now I get to go back out there and I have a tough opponent in front of me. He’s real confident. It’s my duty to break him down.”

Charlo and Benavidez have had testy exchanges throughout the promotion, but the 33-year-old Houston native is not making too much of it. 

“Jose is different when the cameras come on,” said Charlo. “Maybe he’s not used to the lights. I don’t know. When I saw him in the elevator earlier, he didn’t say anything. But when he gets in front of the media, he acts different. That’s not me. I keep it solid the whole time. I’ve got him shook. He’s shook right now. He doesn’t know what to expect. He can’t size me up. He doesn’t know where I’m at in my mind. He doesn’t know where I’m at physically. It’s going to be a fight. It’s going to be a war.”

The historically brash Charlo has been more mild-mannered and subdued throughout the buildup of his return bout.

The proclamations Charlo made leading up to the Friday weigh-in, however, did not add up to the result reflected on the scale. 

“Money doesn’t have anything to do with my motivations. I fight for my legacy,” said Charlo. “This is about me getting back to the best me. I want to be able to give the fans and everyone who supports me the best of me. I get a chance to go in there and I’m ready for war. Just know that. I’m motivated and I’m ready to show everybody.

“I smell blood. It’s been a while since I got a chance to really hunt and go eat and take my opponent down. I’m going to break him down inside the ring and outside the ring. I’m going to make sure I keep doing what I’m doing. In 2024, I’m going to give you all a lot more action and a lot more Jermall Charlo. I’m the new Jermall.

“I’m going to give the fans what they want. For the rest of my career, it’s going to be about my fans. With how much love they showed me over the years, I’m going to give the fans what they want. If they want to see me fight at 160 pounds and defend the title, I’ll do what I have to do to make the weight and do everything to be at the top of my level. Then I can go to 168 and fight there. I’ll probably move up to light heavy. Whatever the fans want to see me do, I’ll try it.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.