Teixeira Obtains Travel Visa, Arrives In U.S. To Preserve Title Defense Versus Castano
Dec 22, 2020 • 12:04 AM ET
The first thing that Patrick Teixeira did upon deplaning at Los Angeles International Airport was take off his protective mask and breathe a sign of relief.
Any lingering questions as to whether the 30-year old Brazilian southpaw would be able to proceed with the first defense of his 154-pound title were finally answered over the weekend. Teixeira secred a travel visa and has since arrived in the United States well in advance of his showdown versus mandatory challenger Brian Castano which takes place February 13, live on DAZN from Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.
“I am right to say that I have the best manager (Patrick Nascimento) and the best promoter (Golden Boy Promotions) in the world,” Teixeira told BoxingScene.com on Monday. “Together they managed to resolve my visa situation. Now I'm here in the USA.
“I will continue my preparation and be ready to have a great fight.”
Concerns arose over Teixeira’s ability to leave his home country, which twice caused delays in his WBO-ordered title defense versus Castano (16-0-1, 12KOS). The matter became the subject of a purse bid hearing, which was won by Golden Boy Promotions on November 12 in their best effort to ensure its fighter didn’t have to once again fight on a rival promoter’s show. Teixeira won the title in a 12-round decision over Carlos Adames last November on a show promoted by Top Rank.
Faced with the threat of Castano’s team—which includes adviser and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) creator Al Haymon—gaining control of the fight, Golden Boy made a point to outbid TGB Promotion in order to retain promotional rights to the event.
“Patrick Teixeira became a world champion in a tough fight on enemy turf, so we wanted to make sure that his defense would take place on a Golden Boy card,” Eric Gomez, president of Golden Boy previously told BoxingScene.com. “Teixeira deserves it as do all of our world champions.”
The fight was originally scheduled to take place at this very venue on April 29, only for the initial wave of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic to trample those plans. The infectious disease grew worse in Brazil in recent months, creating a travel nightmare for its citizens—including Teixeira.
As such, there remained concern over whether Teixeira (31-1, 22KOs) would be cleared for travel in time to participate. A deadline of January 6, 2021 was established for his side to confirm status with the WBO, with the matter to be re-evaluated should any such issues remain.
From there came false rumors of Australia’s unbeaten second-generation boxer Tim Tszyu replacing Teixeira in what would become a vacant title fight. Aiding in that cause was Danny Leigh, chairman of WBO Global providing such misinformation to Australian media ahead of Tszyu’s most recent fight, a 1st round knockout of Bowyn Morgan earlier this month.
It’s all moot, as both Teixeira and Argentina’s Castano—who has not fought since a 5th round stoppage of Wale Omotoso last November—are both stateside and ready to fight.
“Many cheered against me, and thought I would lose my title without [being able to] fight,” notes Teixeira. “But they were wrong. I'm here to keep my belt, much to Brian’s disappointment.
“See you soon, Castano.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home.
