Undefeated rising star Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo (26-0, 11 KOs) will look to put on a show for his hometown fans when he takes on Joachim Alcine (35-7-2, 21 KOs) in a 10-round super welterweight bout on Halloween night, Saturday, October 31 as Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBCSN comes to NRG Arena in Houston, Texas.
Televised coverage begins at 11 p.m. ET with powerful super welterweight prospect Tony Harrison (21-1, 18 KOs) taking on Cecil McCalla (20-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round super welterweight attraction. Doors in the arena open at 5 p.m. CT and will feature a full night of exciting action.
“This is a good fight against a former world champion,” said Charlo. “He’s experienced and he’s been in the ring with multiple world champions. I’m not taking anything away from him, but Houston is my town. I’ve been anticipating another fight here. I’m ready to go and I’m going to put on a great show.”
“I am so excited for this opportunity to compete against a young, strong fighter like Jermell Charlo,” said Alcine. “I don’t think he’s faced a fighter with my level of experience in big fights. I am not going to make it easy for him. I am going to challenge Charlo like he never has been before.”
Younger-by-one-minute than his identical twin, super welterweight world champion Jermall, Charlo is also a highly ranked young fighter looking to get one step closer to a world title shot. A tall fighter for his division, the 25-year-old stepped up in class in 2014 and delivered three wide unanimous decision victories over Gabriel Rosado, Charlie Ota and Mario Lozano. In 2015 he delivered his most impressive victory to date, beating highly-ranked Vanes Martirosyan in March.
A veteran of the sport for over 15 years, Alcine is unbeaten in his last three bouts. The 39-year-old won a world title in 2007 with a victory over previously unbeaten Travis Simms and defended against Alfonso Mosquera. Born in Haiti, but fighting out of Quebec, Alcine owns a victory over David Lemieux and most recently fought to a split-draw with Delvin Rodriguez.
At just 25-years-old, Harrison has made big noise recording a 10-fight knockout streak before dropping his last fight to Willie Nelson. The Detroit-native will look to bounce back and return to the win column when he enters the ring on October 31. He has picked up victories over Antwone Smith, Tyrone Brunson, Bronco McKart and Pablo Munguia in the last two years.
After an extended amateur career in which he competed in nearly 100 fights, McCalla is looking to bounce back from a loss to Ishe Smith in April. He entered 2015 on a 20-fight win streak and hopes to get back on track on October 31. The 30-year-old fights out of Baltimore, Maryland.