Jermall Charlo is comfortable having the chips stacked up against him in order to fight the best middleweight of his generation.

The WBC middleweight champion Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) would concede many of the bargaining chips that are a part of big-time prize fights in order to get aging IBF middleweight crownholder Gennadiy Golovkin to fight him. 

“I’m hungry to consider myself one of the best in the world. I’m out to fight the best out there. That’s been the hardest achievement right now,” Charlo told the PBC Podcast. “My team has reached out to guys like Golovkin, Canelo [Alvarez], and [Demetrius] Andrade. Whoever has a belt at 160. I’m obviously one of the top-tiers in the division, so it’s not as if they can avoid me. But, of course, I’m one of the most avoided, but all I’ve got to do is keep fighting and keep winning.

“Yeah, [Golovkin is] a fight that I really want, yeah it’s a fight that can be made. It’s just a matter of time. It’s a matter of how we can get Golovkin in the ring with Jermall Charlo. We both want things our way, A-side, B-side. I’ll take the B-side. I’ll fight in a big ring if they want to fight in a big ring. I’ll fight in their city if they want to fight in their city. I don’t pick the fights, I’m not into the management group.”

The 30-year-old Texan Charlo’s next fight will come on Showtime against Juan Macias Montiel (22-4-2, 22 KOs) on June 19 at the Toyota Center in Houston, but he’s still eyeing other top-tier opponents, including Alvarez. 

“F--- the money, f--- the fame, f--- the networks,” Charlo said in an Instagram post following Alvarez eighth-round stoppage win over Billy Joe Sauders. “I’ll lose my title and go to 168, make the fight happen now.”

The two-division champion Charlo is coming off a spirited unanimous decision win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko in September during his pay per view debut. 

For now, he’ll have to focus on the hard-hitting Mexican fighter Montiel, who is riding a four-fight unbeaten streak since losing to Jaime Munguia in 2017. 

“I fight whoever they put in front of me, so regardless I train hard for every fight. Every time I get up in the morning and I look at those world titles on the ceiling, [I think] there’s more out there, there’s more to come … I’m going to showcase my talent on June 19th on Showtime so you guys get a chance to see me again. [Montiel] deserves a shot.”

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