Carlos Castro knew to be ready for any big fight at a moment’s notice from the time he signed with Premier Boxing Champions.
The most significant opportunity of his career to date arrives this weekend, simply from being at the right weight at the right time.
“I can fight at featherweight, I can fight at (122 pounds), no problem” Castro insisted to BoxingScene.com ahead of his fight at the latter, as he faces former two-division titlist Luis Nery in a junior featherweight title eliminator. “This fight just came to the table, it was a no brainer for us.
“Luis Nery is a two-time, two division world champion and well known in the boxing industry. We knew that doing everything we can to get a victory over Luis Nery will put us on the doorstep of a title shot.”
Once upon a time, Castro (27-0, 12KOs) was one win away from challenging for the WBC junior featherweight title. The unbeaten Phoenix-based contender was approved by the WBC for a final eliminator versus Puerto Rico’s Christopher Diaz while still fighting under the Top Rank banner. The fight never materialized, nor did any other for Castro who ultimately changed representation.
The first fight with PBC for Castro came on the undercard of a Fox Sports Pay-Per-View last August 21 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Castro scored a tenth-round knockout of Oscar Escandon a couple of hours before Yordenis Ugas would defend his welterweight title in a twelve-round upset of legendary former eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao.
Castro fights in a similar capacity this weekend, though with increased stakes. His bout with Nery (31-1, 24KOs) airs in supporting capacity on a Fox Sports PPV from Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. The winner of Castro-Nery will be nicely positioned to challenge either of the division’s two unified titlists—WBC/WBO champ Stephen Fulton (20-0, 8KOs) or WBA/IBF champ Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t getting the fights I wanted. I wasn’t getting the opportunities with the other promotional company I was with,” admits Castro. “When one door closes, another one opens.
“This door opened for me to go with PBC. I’m grateful that this door opened for me. They have all the champions, they have all the challengers and I’ve heard they take good care of their fighters. I’m experiencing that right now.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox