Brian Castano’s persistent pressure has helped him develop into one of the most formidable boxers in the 154-pound division.
Jermell Charlo is confident, of course, that his power will neutralize Castano’s relentlessness when they fight for full supremacy in their division July 17 at AT&T Center in San Antonio. Charlo has scored several devastating knockouts during his championship reigns and possesses power that his knockout ratio, 51 percent, probably doesn’t reflect.
Castano didn’t attend the press conference to promote their title unification fight Saturday afternoon in Houston, but Charlo knows the rugged Argentinean champion will be in his face as soon as the opening bell rings next month. In fact, the 31-year-old Charlo wouldn’t be surprised if he is forced to dig deeper during this 12-round championship match than in any of the first 35 fights of the Houston native’s 13-year professional career.
“I haven’t been in a fight where my life has been on the line to the extreme, you know,” Charlo told a group of reporters after the press conference Saturday. “And if this is the moment that I gotta put my life on the line for my family, I’m willing to take that risk. You know, like no matter what it takes. If Brian Castano wants to fight and he wants to bang, I’m willing to bang. And if I have to box to win, I’m mentally smart enough to box to win. So, with that being said, I’m undisputed. You know, like this is an opportunity for me, not just for me, but for Texas. I’m excited.
“You know, I want this more than he do. It’s all about who’s hungrier. You know, we’re both in-shape type of fighters. We both can throw a lot of punches. I mean, obviously I don’t throw a lot of punches because I punch hard. But I punch hard for the 12 rounds. I don’t think that because they say, ‘Power don’t matter,’ but in this particular moment, I think power gonna make a difference. Power gonna make a difference on his pressure as well.”
Showtime will televise the bout between Charlo (34-1, 18 KOs) and Castano (17-0-1, 12 KOs) as the main event of a tripleheader July 17. The William Hill sports book has established Charlo as a 2-1 favorite to win a fight that, short of a draw, will crown the first fully unified champion in the 154-pound division during boxing’s four-belt era.
Charlo holds the IBF, WBA and WBC titles. The 31-year-old Castano captured the WBO belt in his last fight – a dominant, 12-round, unanimous-decision win over Brazil’s Patrick Teixeira (31-2, 22 KOs) on February 13 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
