Jermell Charlo Wants Ennis, Ortiz or Tszyu Next: 'Line 'Em Up'

Jermell Charlo hasn't thrown a punch in anger since September 2023, when he jumped two divisions to challenge Canelo Alvarez at 168lbs and dropped a unanimous decision. Three years and zero fights later, the former undisputed super-welterweight king wants everyone between 154 and 160lbs to know he's open for business — and he named names.

In a social media broadside, Charlo listed Jaron 'Boots' Ennis, Vergil Ortiz Jr, Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora as targets, capping it with a blunt demand to stop talking around him and put one of them in front of him. The problem: of those four, only one has a confirmed date, and none of them appear to be answering.

The Callout

Charlo took aim at each man individually. He said Tszyu went quiet after outpointing Errol Spence Jr in July, despite Charlo's attempts to explore the fight through advisor Al Haymon. He accused Ortiz's camp of stalling on a bout he's rumored to face later this year, and needled Ennis for building his name off retired fighters — a shot at the Terence Crawford chatter. Fundora, all 6ft 6in of him, got branded a giraffe still figuring out his plans.

Why the Silence Makes Sense

Look at the resumes and the reluctance isn't hard to read. Ennis is 36-0 with 32 knockouts and holds the WBA and WBO straps, fresh off a seventh-round stoppage of Xander Zayas. Fundora is 24-1-1 and just battered Keith Thurman in six. These are prime, active champions with clean records and real momentum. Charlo, at his age and after a three-year layoff, is a name — not a mandatory.

Fundora is the only one of the group with something booked, defending his WBC title against mandatory challenger Ermal Hadribeaj on October 17. Ennis, Ortiz and Tszyu are all awaiting their next assignments, with Tszyu expected to stay at middleweight.

Here's the catch nobody around Charlo wants to say out loud: given how long he's been idle, a return will almost certainly come at a lower level first. Calling out unified champions on Twitter is easy. Booking a ring return and proving you still belong is the part that actually moves the needle. Until Charlo does that, the 'line 'em up' talk stays exactly that — talk.