Although he’s been out of the ring for a significant amount of time, WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo earned a win out of it.
This, as TMZ Sports reported Monday night that they learned Charlo’s felony assault charge from the fall of 2021 in Fort Bend, Texas, was dropped.
Prosecutors told TMZ Sports that they have dropped the felony charge against star boxer Jermall Charlo. https://t.co/gNfeU3PTX1
— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) September 12, 2022
From the TMZ report,
“According to court documents, Charlo was accused of battering a family member during an incident on September 5, 2021 in Fort Bend County, Texas. Ultimately, he was arrested for all of that in February and charged with felony assault.
But a spokesperson for the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office tells us they filed a motion to dismiss the case on Monday “on the grounds that we cannot prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“The evidence was developed in a way that did not support the charge to conclusion,” the spokesman said.
Charlo’s attorney said in a statement Monday that the 32-year-old was “very pleased” with the decision.
“Nine witnesses came forward to say that Charlo never hit his 21-year-old nephew,” said Charlo’s attorney, Kent Schaffer. “Jermall is very happy. He can focus on preparing for his next fight now that he has removed this distraction.”
As we wrote earlier this year, Charlo was arrested for an alleged incident on September 21, 2021 in which he is accused of “hitting or grabbing” a man, who was actually a relative.
Charlo’s arrest follows a previous robbery charge in connection with an incident at a San Antonio, Texas, sports restaurant in June 2021.
Charlo got into a restaurant dispute the night before his twin brother Jermell fought Brian Castano for the undisputed junior middleweight title in San Antonio. That dispute was over whether or not his credit card had been declined and whether or not he had grabbed the waitress in an altercation to get his card back.
Ultimately, Jermall Charlo was acquitted of those charges in early February 2022 and the Bexar County (San Antonio) Prosecutor’s Office declined to prosecute. This, after witness statements and a videotape supported Charlo’s claim that it was a mix-up/dispute over his credit card that did not actually rise to the level of a felony of violence or robbery.
We still await Charlo’s return to the ring to defend his WBC 160-pound crown. His June fight against veteran Maciej Sulecki in Houston was postponed due to what was described as a minor back injury during the champion’s training. However, there were persistent rumors behind the scenes that there was lousy ticket sales/low interest in the Sulecki fight. And it is very telling that there has been no rescheduling announcement of that proposed fight, now three months later.
The belief is that Charlo may return later this year at a Showtime pay-per-view in November or December, where they and PBC are discussing dates and potential fights.
