Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castano: date, time, how to watch, background
Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano will meet a second time for the undisputed 154-pound championship Saturday in Carson, California, on Showtime.
Jermell Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KOs) vs. Brian Castano (17-0-2, 12 KOs)
Date: Saturday, May 14
Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California
TV/Stream: Showtime
Division: Junior middleweight (154 pounds)
Rounds: 12
At stake: Charlo’s IBF, WBA, WBC and Castano’s WBO titles
Pound-for-pound ranking: Charlo No. 10
Odds: Charlo 1½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Also on the card: Jaron Ennis vs. Custio Clayton, welterweights; Kevin Gonzalez vs. Emanuel Rivera, junior featherweights
Prediction: Charlo UD
Background: Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano will try again to crown an undisputed 154-pound champion. They did battle with all four belts on the line last July but the fight ended in a draw, which settled nothing. Charlo, a formidable boxer-puncher from Houston, had been one of the hotter fighters in the business going into that fight. He lost a stunning decision and the WBC title to slick Tony Harrison in December 2018 but (following a successful defense against Jorge Cota) stopped Harrison in 11 rounds in the rematch and then knocked out Jeison Rosario in eight rounds to add the IBF and WBA belts in September 2020. Charlo also has victories Gabriel Rosado, Vanes Martirosyan, Erickson Lubin and Austin Trout. Castano, a relentless volume puncher from Argentina, followed a series of impressive performances – including a victory over Michel Soro (SD) and a draw with Erislandy Lara – by easily outpointing Patrick Teixeira to win the WBO title in February of last year. That led to the first title-unification bout against Charlo, in which Castano made it clear that he’s one of the best in the business.
