Jermell Charlo "has a legitimate chance" to upset Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez when the two fighters compete September 30 in Las Vegas.
That's according to Golden Boy Promotions partner Bernard Hopkins, who told Fight Hub TV recently that he even gives the American boxer Charlo "an 85% plus chance" of success at the T-Mobile Arena later this month.
"Why?" Hopkins said, "because, to my understanding, he’s not going in there to prove something, which would fall into Canelo’s hands.
"But he’s going to go in there and let him know, establish in the first round. That he belongs, he’s tough and he’s going to show him that his time came and gone."
Though Alvarez is the favorite at the bookmakers, with his wealth of experience in some of boxing's biggest pay-per-view bouts, he is arguably under greater pressure as he is in desperate need of a morale-boosting win after a loss to Dmitry Bivol, and laborious wins over Gennadiy Golovkin and John Ryder.
Charlo, Hopkins says, needs to fight like he has to remind Alvarez of a few ugly truths.
"Canelo has to be shown that he has slowed up," said Hopkins.
"He ain’t gonna surrender and think, “I’ve slowed up so I’ll act like it. He has to be shown, and that has to be early."
The Premier Boxing Champions event, which Canelo and Charlo headline, airs on Showtime Sports pay-per-view.
