WBO junior middleweight champion Brian Castano says he’s ready to show fans that he can punch too when he faces IBF/WBA/WBC champion Jermell Charlo (34-1, 18 KOs) on Saturday night.
Charlo nad Castano will be meeting for the undisputed 154-lb championship in the headliner on SHOWTIME Boxing at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Fans outside the US can watch the card on FITE TV:
During the build-up to Saturday’s fight, Castano has heard endlessly about how great of a power-puncher the 31-year-old Charlo is, and he agrees. Charlo does punch hard, but Castano wants him and the boxing public to know is that he’s got power too.
What Castano apart from Charlo is that he’s got a work rate that far is far superior to his. So if Jermell isn’t able to score a knockout in this fight, he could be in for a difficult time.
Castano looking to pull off an upset
A win for Castano would be considered an upset in the eyes of boxing fans and the oddsmakers, who have Jermell as the favorite.
Part of the reason for that is Charlo has looked good lately with his knockout wins over Jeison Rosario, Jorge Cota, and Tony Harrison.
“This is the most important fight for me and for my family,” said Brian Castano to Fighthub. “I’m waiting for July 17th to come for a war, and I’m going to make everybody proud.
“I’ll be making history for Argentinian boxing with something no one has ever achieved before, but I don’t like to get ahead of myself.
“I want to put my best foot forward on Saturday night, make Argentinian proud, and hopefully become the champion that everyone hopes I can be,” said Castano.
This is the biggest fight by far of Castano’s career, as he’s not fought many big-name fighters during his nine-year professional career. By far, these are the best names on Castano’s resume:
- Erislandy Lara
- Patrick Teixeira
- Wale Omotoso
- Cedric Vitu
- Michel Soro
Lara stands out among the crowd on Castano’s resume, and he fought him to a 12 round draw. Even now, Lara might still be a better fighter than Jermell.
They never fought each other, but Lara has the kind of talent that would give Jermell fits.
Castano: I have my power
“He’s definitely an elite fighter, someone that is probably stronger than anyone I’ve ever faced, the one with the most power, but besides that, he’s someone that I’m more than willing to face,” said Castano about Jermell Charlo.
“It’s really about what I’m capable of against a fighter like Charlo, but he has his own power, and I have mine,” said Castano.
It’s going to be interesting to see who emerges as the winner in this contest on Saturday.
Can Castano handle Jermell’s power, or will he fade like so many other fighters have in the last couple of years? And what of Jermell?
Will he handle getting worked over on the inside the way Lara and Patrick Teixeira both were by Castano?
