As far as Carlos Castro is concerned, winning the full version of the WBC 126lbs title is a bonus.
Don’t be mistaken, the veteran contender was over the moon when he learned the stakes were raised for his January 31 showdown with unbeaten interim titlist Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington. The fact of the matter, however, is that he was already down for the fight no matter version of the title was on the line.
“It was great, man. In the beginning they said it was going to be for the interim featherweight title. Really, the interim would’ve been great and I would’ve appreciated the opportunity,” Castro told BoxingScene. “But when they announced that Fulton vacated and that it would be for the full, I was thrilled. I’m not really the type of person who likes to show emotions, but in my head I was pumped!
“Still, I have a job to do. With the full title or without, I still have a job to do. This just brings more excitement to it.”
Carrington-Castro is part of a January 31 Ring show that will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The DAZN pay-per-view (because that’s still a thing despite Turki Alalshikh and the over-the-top platform’s promises to the contrary) will be topped by the Teofimo Lopez-Shakur Stevenson lineal/WBO 140lbs championship.
Castro, 30-3 (14 KOs) – a Phoenix-raised Mexican boxer who now lives and trains in Los Angeles – barely blinked when asked about the chance to face Brooklyn’s Carrington, 16-0 (9 KOs). It barely mattered to the 14-year ring pro – who turns 32 in March – that he has to travel to “Shu York City” to face a younger, rising contender mere miles from his hometown.
It also was not of any concern that a secondary title was at stake, at the time Castro agreed to the showdown. The fight was since upgraded to a vacant WBC 126lbs title showdown, after Stephen Fulton outgrew the division and elected to relinquish the belt.
Castro’s last outing came in a narrow, and disputed defeat to Fulton more than a year ago. Their 10-round contest in Las Vegas came with little more than bragging rights on the line. Castro was considered unlucky to not walk away with the decision, though his stock rose in defeat as it came in a much stronger performance than in his July 2022 knockout loss to Brandon Figueroa.
Three wins had followed prior to his setback with Fulton. Unfortunately, no fights followed since then. Castro was injured for a spell and then waiting on a fight date with former two-division titlist Rey Vargas that never materialized – an unfortunate common occurrence in the present state of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC).
The 16-month gap between his fight with Fulton and the one coming up with Carrington left cause for concern among his team. However, it’s just not in Castro’s DNA to take a step backward when a bigger opportunity is on the table.
“People talk about that I take any fight, but it’s not true,” Castro explained. “I take any fight that matters. I was out for a while and my team was like, ‘Oh we need a couple of tune-ups.’ I said no to that. That is taking any fight.
“These are the fights that matter. When these opportunities come, you gotta take ‘em. To those who tell me these big fights are big risks, I tell them, ‘No risk, no reward.’ I don’t take these fights just for a payday, I take these fights to win.”
