Jermall Charlo is poised to end by far the longest layoff of his career.

The unbeaten two-division and reigning WBC middleweight titlist is back in camp for a planned ring return. Charlo insisted he will next fight in June, though the update was not accompanied by a location, opponent or even a concrete fight date.

“Practice makes perfection,” Charlo stated through his verified social media channel on Sunday. “I needed some time away from the sport. Back in my bag.

“I’ll be defending my WBC title in June. Sorry for the wait.”

The timeframe will put Charlo (32-0, 22KOs) out of the ring for two full years by the time he makes his return. The WBC middleweight titleholder—who will turn 33 in May—has not fought since a June 2021 points win over Mexico’s Juan Macias Montiel, headlining a Juneteenth-themed show at the Toyota Center in his hometown of Houston, Texas.

Charlo was due to return to that venue in a voluntary defense versus Poland’s former title challenger Maciej Sulecki last June 18, also in celebration of the Juneteenth holiday. However, a reported back injury forced him out of the fight which prompted event handlers to cancel the show altogether. Despite several teased dates in the aftermath, Charlo has been kept on the sidelines as it was learned that other personal matters prevented him from returning to the ring at full mental strength.

Concern was raised over his grossly inactive title reign. Charlo—a former IBF junior middleweight titlist—has made just three title defenses since an upgrade to full WBC titlist from interim beltholder in June 2019. Among those voicing displeasure is Dominican Republic’s Carlos Adames (22-1, 17KOs), who claimed the interim WBC middleweight title in a one-sided third-round knockout of Montiel last October 8 in Carson, California.

Adames has since called for showdowns with Gennadiy Golovkin (42-2-1, 37KOs)—who holds the WBA belt but recently vacated his IBF title—and WBO claimant Janibek Alimkhanuly (13-0, 8KOs). Aside from the fact that neither boxer has expressed any real interest in such a fight, Adames cannot pursue such bouts without giving up his interim belt since other sanctioning bodies don’t recognize secondary titleholders outside their own organization.

“I deserve (for) the WBC (to) elevate me,” Adames insisted over the weekend, the latest such occasion where he has called for a title upgrade. “I was (at) the WBC 60th convention and (they ordered) me vs. Mall.”

The statement isn’t quite accurate. The WBC declared during its convention last November in Acapulco that Adames was free face any ranked contender in a voluntary title defense while the sanctioning body vowed to look into Charlo’s “situation” and from there make a final ruling.

Neither Charlo nor Adames have fought since then, though both are now on track to make their way back to the ring in the first half of the year. It just won’t come versus each other, at least not yet.

Charlo’s longest previous ring absence came more than eleven years ago, when he was out for thirteen months preceding a September 2011 knockout win of Eric Draper in just his eighth pro fight. He has not gone fewer than ninth months between fights since the pandemic.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox