by David P. Greisman, photo by Stephanie Trapp

That is how you make a statement.

You don’t do it by winning a world title from a faded 42-year-old who was seen as limited and vulnerable even when he was younger.

You don’t do it by making short work of an unproven prospect who probably never was going to be a contender yet somehow got an opportunity to fight for a world title.

You can do it, in part, by fending off a stiff challenge from a skilled former titleholder.

But you do it in full by taking on someone like you, someone who appears to be really good, and then showing just how much better than him you are.

Jermall Charlo arrived on Saturday night in a way that he couldn’t have done when he stopped Cornelius Bundrage in three rounds for a belt 15 months ago, or when he scored a technical knockout against Wilky Campfort about a year ago, or when he outpointed Austin Trout this past May.

Charlo arrived by knocking Julian Williams down three times in five rounds, giving the rising contender his first professional loss and doing so in impressive fashion.

They were both 26 years old. Charlo was 24-0 with 18 knockouts. Williams was 22-0-1 with 14 KOs. Charlo was making the third defense of his world title. Williams was fighting for a belt for the first time.

This match was going to prove a lot for the winner. Charlo would either come out victorious over a highly regarded fighter approaching the prime of his career or would fall short when finally facing someone like that. Williams would either ascend by defeating a young, gifted titleholder or would get a reality check regarding just how he measures up against the top junior middleweights.

Their class and skill showed in the opening round, a tactical three minutes as each sought to gauge what the other was trying to do and whether he was capable of doing it. They were hoping to establish some momentum that could be built upon as the fight went on, sending out jabs and quick leads while also seeking to counter. Williams in particular landed his right hand a few times over Charlo’s jab.

A minute into the second round, however, Charlo’s jab got there first, a stiff left hand that neared its target just as Williams began to step forward with a jab of his own. Williams stagger backward and then fell. He wasn’t just off-balance. His legs were momentarily stiffened. He rose immediately in a vain attempt to show that it was a flash knockdown, only to stumble forward a few steps. Charlo approached to try to capitalize. Williams blocked, held, landed a left hook and soon got a right hand in flush on Charlo’s chin.

charlo-williams-fight (12)

Each had found success. Each continued to find more. Williams had a right hand to the head followed by one to the body in the third. Charlo soon responded with a left hook. Later in the round, Charlo let out a four-punch combination, while Williams had another right land upstairs.

They traded jabs and one right hand apiece in the opening minute of the fourth. Every time one of them landed, the other sought to respond. Williams again began to find success toward the end of the round with right hand counters.

“Those are close rounds,” said Charlo’s twin brother, Jermell, also a 154-pound titleholder, speaking to someone seated by him while shown on the television broadcast after the fourth round.

Charlo and Williams seemed evenly matched. But Charlo was about to change that.

Williams found a home for his jab as the fifth round began. Charlo, following the direction he’d received from trainer Ronnie Shields, retorted after many of Williams’ punches by trying to back his opponent up. Williams threw a one-two, and Charlo sent out a right hand and a left hook. Williams landed another one-two. Charlo, tied up, backed Williams to the ropes. Williams threw two jabs. Charlo had a right hand coming back. Charlo led with a pair of jabs of his own.

Williams wanted to come forward. Charlo was doing things to ensure that Williams would keep trying to come forward. Charlo was looking for openings. When Williams was there hitting, he was there to be hit.

Halfway through the round, Williams sent out a jab and a right hand. Charlo, his body angled nearly perpendicular to Williams, leaned his head away from the shot and put his right glove on the left side of his head, catching the punch and then, in a smooth motion, bringing that right glove down below his waist and then toward Williams’ chin.

Williams was beginning to throw a left hook, the natural three to follow a one-two, but he was caught first with the right uppercut.

Williams fell forward. He was on his knees and gloves by four, began to try to get up by six but didn’t yet have his equilibrium back, falling to his right and holding himself up with his glove. He rose after the referee reached eight, nodded his head to say he wanted to continue, but didn’t have enough presence of mind left in order to help himself do so. He put his gloves on the side of his head to attempt to protect himself from Charlo’s finishing blows, but didn’t do anything to prevent or block them.

Williams dropped again, the second time in the round, the third time in the fight. The referee waved the fight off immediately. Williams wasn’t out, but he wasn’t capable of keeping upright, never mind intelligently defend himself. It was over — just like that.

That is how you make a statement.

“I’m the f***ing champ,” Charlo yelled shortly afterward, perched on the ropes and looking out into the crowd, putting that statement into words.

“It’s the level of opponent he just beat, and the way he beat him, a highlight-reel, spectacular knockout,” said Paulie Malignaggi, the former two-division titleholder working in his regular role as an on-air analyst for Showtime. “We already knew both fighters were very good coming in, but this type of win, this [was an] emphatic type of win in a competitive fight.”

Charlo had been complimentary of Williams before the fight, calling him “one of my best opponents up to this date,” and he spoke well of Williams afterward.

“Julian Williams is a strong, good, young fighter just like me, and I knew he would be just as hungry as me,” Charlo told reporters later that evening. “This guy came out to fight me. He was every bit of what they thought he was and said he was. He’s going to be a champion.”

But he also confessed after the bout to being bothered by those who felt the match could go either way. He didn’t just see that as being complimentary of Williams, but as disparaging him at the same time.

“I’m coming off everybody saying I’m not what I am,” Charlo said. “I am what I am.”

He proved himself as one of the best at 154 pounds, with emphasis.

But just as he’s arrived, now he’s set to depart.

Charlo and his trainer had said before this fight that he would leave the 154-pound weight class and move up to middleweight after. Charlo actually came in at 153.4 pounds for the Williams bout, and unofficially was at 158 pounds on fight night, though there were at least a few people who doubted that figure.

He says he can still make the weight for a major fight. There aren’t many major fights available. His brother holds one world title. His teammate, Erislandy Lara, is also trained by Shields and holds another belt. Canelo Alvarez holds the fourth title, is expected to move up to middleweight as well, and is promoted by a company, Golden Boy Promotions, that is presently embroiled in a lawsuit against Charlo’s adviser, Al Haymon.

Former titleholder Demetrius Andrade wants to face Charlo and crashed the post-fight press conference to say as much. That may not be enough to keep Charlo around. It depends on what awaits him at 160.

Gennady Golovkin holds three of the four major middleweight world titles, wants a fight with Alvarez or Billy Joe Saunders, and has also been in negotiations for a defense against Daniel Jacobs. There is a second tier of contenders and prospects below them. That’s not the ideal level of opponent for Charlo after such a signature victory, but it would be better than sitting out and waiting.

That was the mistake Jacobs made after his first-round technical knockout of Peter Quillin last year. He remained out of the ring for nine months and then returned with a fight few wanted to see.

Charlo has given boxing fans a convincing reason to tune in to see him. His fight unfortunately aired at the same time as a competing card on HBO. Ratings weren’t yet in as this column went to press. There was enough buzz around his performance that a video of the knockout on Showtime’s official YouTube page had nearly 66,000 views by 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday evening, about 24 hours after the bout. Other illegal uploads increased his exposure.

He made a statement. And that statement got people talking.

That’s a very good start, but it’s only a start. The business, as often is the case, is like the sport. Charlo landed something big. Now he needs to pick the right way to follow up.

“Fighting Words” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. 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