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Brian Castano and Jermell Charlo will have a rematch on Saturday after their first bout, in 2021, ended with a controversial split-decision draw.
Castano recently told Boxing Scene that he was happy that the rematch would not be taking place in Houston, Texas, where Charlo is based. In the first bout, which took place in Texas, Castano landed more punches than his opponent. However, one of the judges scored the bout heavily in Charlo's favor.
Since the fight, there has been bad blood. Castano postponed a rematch after suffering an injury in training and was accused by Charlo of faking the injury. Castano told Boxing Scene that he will make Charlo pay:
"I promise you, I’m gonna make him pay for everything that he has said and everything that happened in the first fight. I’m gonna break him and I’m gonna make him suffer. And that’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter if it’s in front of one, two, 300, or 20,000 people. What I have my sights set on is him and only him – me and him inside the ring, that’s all.”
Brian Castano vs. Jermell Charlo I
Brian Castano and Jermell Charlo met to unify the light middleweight division on July 17, 2021, in San Antonio, Texas. Castano outpunched and outlanded Charlo in the fight. However, Charlo came back with some heavy flurries late in the fight, which served him well on the cards.
The bout saw a strong performance from Castano, particularly in the early rounds. He pressed Charlo with strong combinations to keep him on the back foot. In the third round, he landed a devastating left hook which sent tremors through the Texan, though he managed to stay on his feet.
When the final bell rang, Castano believed that he was the victor. However, the official scorecards called it a draw. The breakdown was: 114-114, 114-113 Castano, and 117-113 Charlo. The final card was particularly controversial, as the judge gave Castano just three rounds, disagreeing with both the other judges on the first, fourth, and eighth rounds.
