Jermell Charlo retains title against Charles Hatley with spectacular KO

NEW YORK — Jermell Charlo warned Charles Hatley over and over at Thursday's press conference.

Charlo time and again told his opponent that he better shut his mouth, because he wasn't here to play around — that he wasn't leaving Brooklyn without the title still around his waist.

The war of words continued unabated, but Saturday, Charlo had his say, and Hatley had no response.

The WBC junior middleweight champion ended matters swiftly — viciously — following a wild exchange in the corner. There were lots of missed shots, but all it took was a single straight right hand to a ducking Hatley, who was unconscious when his face crashed into the mat, right under the rope, just in front of a cameraman who had to move to avoid the collision.

When Hatley finally came to, the fight was over at 32 seconds of Round 6. All his bluster for naught. Charlo's bravdo? Backed up — big time.

He made a clear statement with the dominant victory that will be in major consideration for knockout of the year honors when 2017 is in review: he's ready for a marquee fight.

"I knew Charles Hatley goes down and he gets back up — he’s a warrior — and I knew I had to get in there and be a lion," said Charlo, whose twin brother, Jermall, recently vacated his title to move up to middleweight. “I’m the champ so I have to continue to fight my mandatory. They got a guy named Jarrett Hurd that took my brother’s title — we could unify."

It was as if Charlo finally decided he'd had enough in Round 6 when he opened up and let his hands go in a furious flurry. He had controlled the action to that point — a clash of heads caused a nick of Charlo's left eye in Round 2, but that was the most damage the 26-year-old would sustain.

Charlo (29-0, 14 KOs) wobbled Hatley into the ropes with a right hand in the waning seconds of the second, and used the weapon to much success throughout the 154-pound title fight.

Hatley, 31, had no answers for the more athletic, more refined Charlo, and resorted to lateral movement in an attempt to throw him off. But it didn't work — nothing did.

"I'm so proud of my brother," Jermall said. "He stayed focused this week and did the right things in the ring. He hit the gas when he needed to. He won every round. We are blessed."

Hatley (26-2-1, 18 KOs) soon was headed to the canvas for the first time — but not the last — when a Charlo power jab knocked him off balance in Round 3, with a monstrous right hand behind it that banged Hatley on the left ear and sent him to the mat.

Hatley simply never got into the fight — Charlo landed 71 punches, more than double Hatley's total — and following 17 months of inactivity due to promotional issues with Don King, the Dallas native could soon return to obscurity.

But Charlo? He's here to stay in the spotlight, and it's going to take a complete fighter to knock him from his pedestal.