Charlo Has All The Belts
He’s been champing at the bit (not chomping…) for this fight. Their last meeting was a draw which didn’t please anyone, plus the whispers that he might have been, you know, lucky, must have made it even tougher to bear for the Louisiana native.
And then Castano injured his right bicep. Jermell Charlo didn’t believe it and wasn’t about to keep quiet; as Boxing News reported, he said;
“He doing videos showing [of him] training,” Charlo told Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast. “Unfortunately, those people don’t even know how to keep their nose clean. These are videos of Brian Castano working out. But if your right biceps is injured— he working out, doing all his training. That’s the one that exposes you, your own people…’
But the fight finally happened. And Jermell Charlo showed his absolute mastery.
How Did He Do That?
He danced. No, not danced. He glided. His movement was a thing of beauty. That may be because of the comparison of what was in front of him – Castano stands and comes at you, made for Charlo. On this night, anyway.
He was mobile but never on his bike. He had poise. He had time.
Careful With The Ropes!
That’s what people said. Don’t lay on the ropes, Castano has enjoyed you doing that, he will have fun with it again.
Yeah? He stayed on the ropes on occasion. Castano attacked, as expected. But his opponent just fought out of the situation. Castano had some success in round 3, but by the 5th, Charlo was fighting out with a 1-2 combo which made Castano think.
But That’s Not All
Jermell Charlo had a ramrod jab, which kept Castano busy thinking of what else to do and sapped energy from him.
He also kept his boxing activity up and was just getting through more by the 6th round with an uppercut and an overhand right, then uncorked a lightning-fast left hook in the next.
Castano felt he had to match. But he didn’t have the speed or precision to do so, so that when he went to the body and Charlo landed to the head in answer, as in the 9th, or the when he had success on the ropes but found shots coming back at him must have sapped his strength and his self-belief.
The End Was Incontrovertible
It was a sick-looking delayed reaction touch down from a Charlo left hook. Castano perhaps was drained and the cumulative effect took him over the edge.
The punch didn’t look extraordinary. It was close in though and Charlo has spite in those hands. His precision works exceptionally well too.
It left no questions, but it was an answer to many others. Those people who doubted were silenced, it’s telling that at the post-fight press conference, he rounded on a journalist who he perhaps felt had not entirely believed.
What Next For Charlo?
He’s Undisputed. He has 4 belts. He already had 3, the WBC, IBF and WBA and now he has Castano’s WBO welterweight strap. That’s the first-ever 4 belt champ at 154 lbs.
There were even reports that Charlo was an underdog, considering the concerns that Castano might have won their previous draw.
So he should be able to pick who his next opponent is, shouldn’t he? Not necessarily, there’s talk of a belt being stripped of his WBO belt unless he commits to fight Tim Tszyu.
He only won the belts a few days ago. One thing is certain, once you push, the boxing industry pushes back…