International Boxing Hall of Fame analyst, Showtime boxing historian and unofficial scorer Steve Farhood breaks down the epic first match between WBC, WBA and IBF 154-pound World Champion Jermell Charlo and WBO World Champion Brian Castano for the undisputed super welterweight world championship that ended in a controversial split-decision draw in Charlo vs. Castaño: Round by Round, which premieres on Monday, May 2 at 11:05 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME and will also be available to non-subscribers on the SHOWTIME SPORTS YouTube channel. 

The initial encounter on July 17, 2021, at AT&T Center in San Antonio was hailed as an instant classic and Fight of the Year candidate. It was also just the first time in the history of the sport that a 154-pound unification bout ended in a draw, and only the eighth time ever that a unification fight ended in a stalemate.

Charlo-Castaño I: Round by Round revisits all the drama, tension and controversy from the 12-round bout, with Farhood analyzing the judges’ scores and reviewing his own after each round. The outcome set the stage for the highly anticipated rematch on Saturday, May 14 live on SHOWTIME in another effort to crown the first-ever undisputed 154-pound male champion in the four-belt era. Charlo vs. Castaño II headlines an event presented by Premier Boxing Champions at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.

The Showtime telecast of the rematch begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and also features rising welterweight star Jaron “Boots” Ennis taking on Canadian Olympian Custio Clayton in an IBF Welterweight Title Eliminator in the co-main event, plus Mexican contender Kevin González facing Puerto Rico’s Emanuel Rivera in a 10-round super bantamweight attraction to kick off the tripleheader.

The Charlo vs. Castaño rematch will come nine months after they went toe-to-toe for 12 grueling rounds that was punctuated by the aggressiveness of Castaño and the defensive and counter-punching abilities of Charlo. The three judges that night - Nelson Vazquez of Puerto Rico, Steve Weisfeld of New Jersey and Tim Cheatham of Nevada all saw the fight somewhat differently,

Vazquez scored it 117-111 for Charlo (9-3); Weisfeld 114-113 for Castaño (7-5) and Cheatham 114-114 even (6-6). They agreed on eight of the 12 rounds, with Charlo winning five of those, Castaño three and Farhood agreeing on seven of the frames. Charlo rallied late, winning the final three rounds on all the judges’ scorecards, even earning a 10-8 score in the tenth from Weisfeld, while Farhood gave Charlo the final four rounds.

Castaño had success when he pressured and pinned Charlo against the ropes and landed a sneaky-quick right hand, while Charlo had some of his finest moments in the center of the ring with his long jab and footwork dictating the action. Charlo usually started the round well, only for Castaño to close fast with his best moments in the latter stages of the frame.

As far as punch statistics, Castaño led in total power-punches connected (164-98), Charlo won the battle of the jabs (53-9) and Castaño landed more total punches (173-151), according to SHO Stats. It all added up to an inconclusive but fascinating outcome, one that warranted a thorough review and begged for a rematch, which will happen May 14 on SHOWTIME. 

“I’ve often said that the most difficult fights to score are the ones in which the fighters are trying to do very different things and are using different methods and strategies,” Farhood says in the video. “In this fight Charlo was cast as the boxer, but he showed the one punch power to hurt Castaño. Castaño was cast as the pressure fighter but at times he showed the patience and the ability to fight cleverly at range. Add the stakes, the quality of the boxing and the fact that all along you sensed the difference on the cards could be only a round or two, and the fight was elevated even further.”